


A Baked Love Story

by captainswanandclintasha



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baking, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-09 00:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8868553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainswanandclintasha/pseuds/captainswanandclintasha
Summary: Emma Swan is a single mother who loves to bake and decides to participate to a TV show for amateurs. Killian Jones is a professional baker who takes an offer to be in the jury of a TV show about amateur bakers. AU baker!Killian and baker!Emma.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

The first time when Emma Swan baked something, she was eight years old and her brother, David, was thirteen. It was their mother’s birthday and they wanted to make a cake for her. They woke up much earlier than usual and baked a cake made from pancakes in two colors.  They woke up much earlier than usual to bake a cake made from pancakes. And not just plain pancakes but they made pancakes in two colors, some with chocolate and nutella. It was simple but for their mother it was a lot and she loved the cake and Emma realized that she can try and bake more.  

After a few years of helping her mother and her brother in the kitchen, Emma received three books about cakes on her fifteenth birthday, each with different recipes for cupcakes, cheesecakes and tarts. She started with the cupcakes because they were the easiest for her and after many burned cupcakes she started to master them. After she made more than 50 different kinds of cupcakes she moved to the tarts and in the end to the cheesecakes since they were the hardest to make. 

Emma began making cakes whenever she had free time from school, when it was someone's birthday, or when she was angry. With each attempt Emma was better at making cakes, and quickly baking became her favorite thing and her new dream was to be a baker; to make cakes for people or even celebrities .

Still, life had other plans for her and when she met Neal everything changed. She  spent almost all her time with him so she didn’t have much time to bake and when she had some free time she couldn’t bake because Neal hated everything that was sweet and with chocolate and he couldn’t eat want she made. At first she couldn’t believe it, how can someone hate chocolate? But she was nineteen, he was the first person who loved her or that was what she thought and she was willing to do everything for him  for him; even stop baking and change her dream.

A year later, when Neal left her, after she found out that she was pregnant, she closed herself to everyone and to love and she opened herself to baking again. Baking was the only thing that made her a little happier while she was pregnant and had cravings. She didn’t want to give up her child, she couldn’t do it, even if she was twenty and had a life full of adventure in front of her. She kept the baby, she wanted him in her life even if his father wasn’t even curious if it was a girl or a boy, let alone help her with anything. After her baby boy was born she moved to Boston with him for a new start. David followed her shortly after that, because he wanted to be sure that his sister was okay in Boston with a newborn.

In Boston she continued to bake, although much less since she had to take care of little Henry, but she did it when it was Easter or Christmas, when it was Henry’s birthday or simply when one of them wanted to eat something sweet and she did it with pleasure and much love every time. 

She found a job , although not the one she really wanted . She was a waitress now, it wasn’t much but she made enough money for her and Henry and that was good. She met Ruby there, another waitress who was the granddaughter of the owner of the dinner and she and Ruby became quickly friends.

After a few years, when Henry was five, Emma decided, encouraged by Ruby and David, to take a course about baking. She found one that worked well with her  schedule  at the dinner and her full time job as a mother and after four months of the course, and a few more lessons  and a few youtube videos,  Emma knew more about baking that she thought it was possible. She tried over and over again to find a job where she could make cakes and yet,   no one was willing to hire someone who hadn't gone to college , that only took a course on “How to Bake Like a Pro”.

On her 27th birthday Ruby and Granny gave her the best gift she could get. They made a new section in their diner, only for cakes and Emma was the main chef.

Finally,  _ finally _ , Emma had what she wanted in her life. She had a best friend, her brother, her sweet child and she had to do what she wanted. What could she want more than this?

* * *

* * *

Killian Jones  starting baking when he was fifteen, alone in London and waiting for his big brother, Liam, to come back from the Navy. The books his mother gave him helped him when he missed his brother and after he worked  a little at home, he took a  six-month course on how to make cakes.  He was the best in his class and when he finished he was offered a job in a bakery and of course he took it.  It was a chance  to  establish himself and build on what he already knew  about baking and he was a fool to refuse it.

Six months later a letter from Liam came.  His brother was in New York where the Navy needed him on land and he wished Killian would move with him. He had to quit his job in London but his brother was worth it, in no time at all, his name started to appear in  newspapers , people talked about him and this talent in the kitchen.

Fortunately for him, shortly after Killian moved to New York Liam met a girl named Elsa. Elsa and her sister Anna had one of the most known bakeries in New York and when Elsa heard about Killian’s time in London she offered him a job instantly. There, Killian had the opportunity to bake for many people, most of them celebrities and this is how, quickly, his name started to appear in news papers, people were talking about him and this talent in the kitchen.

One day, Regina Mills come to the bakery. Killian knew her from the TV where she had a tv show called “Bake Off”. Regina offered Killian an  position  on her show, with Mary Margaret Blanchard and Robert Gold, some of the best bakers from New York. The show had to be about  amateurs  who could bake desserts and they needed three experts in desserts to be the jury.

“I want you to be one of them, Mr. Jones,” Regina Mills told him after she  explained  the show.

“I’m not an expert Mrs. Mills.”

“You are,  Mr. Jones, even if you don't believe it . People are talking about your work here and in London, they love your cakes and the way you make them look. You make art with your cakes and we really want you on the show.” 

Killian didn’t know what to say in that moment. He appreciated that Regina gave him a few days to think about the offer. 

When Liam and Elsa found out about Regina’s offer they were excited. Liam talk with him that he would be a “bloody fool” if he declined the offer. Regina Mills was famous for her show and not many people had the occasion to work with Robert Gold himself AND maybe Killian could find a partner to work with him. And of course Elsa had to mention that he could meet someone to be his partner in more ways than one.

The next day Killian called Regina and accepted her offer. Three weeks later he found himself on the road, with Mary Margaret Blanchard, expert in decorating cakes especially  wedding  cakes, Robert Gold expert in everything that was sweet and had sugar, Regina Mills and an entire team of people who ran the rest. He was the only one who wasn't an expert in something and didn't know what to do, but deep down he was excited for what was in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

It was the eight week of auditions and Killian was getting annoyed. Some people were really good at what they were doing but some of them should be banned from the kitchen forever.

One day, in Kansas a guy presented them with mashed banana and a lemon on top of it. They couldn’t even look at it, let alone eat it and he thought that Robert Gold would empty the dash on the man’s head. There was also the Justin Bieber fan,  who came with a cake that looked like Justin Bieber and his hair was made from bacon. Killian lose it when he saw the cake and started to laugh like a teenager. Even Gold, who was the worst at such food failings started to laugh while poor Mary Margaret wanted to cry after the man went back with his “cake”.

But, there were also many good, very good, creations. Complicated receipts, foreign receipts from countries like France, cakes with names like “Tiramisu Pavlova”, “Funfetti Golden Oreo Butter”, “Porridge Cookies” or, his favorite, “S’mores Camping Cake”. The last one wasn’t just his favorite, it was everyone’s favorite. Basically, it was a cake from chocolate layers and vanilla cream inside, but the decoration was perfect, it had chocolate hazelnut pirouettes on sides, green frosting made to look like grass on the top, graham crackers and one large marshmallow made to look like a cabin and a fire made from orange and red icing. It was a cake perfect for a picnic in the family or a small trip outside the town for two days.

This continued around the country, from New York to Texas then to California and everywhere in between to find some of the best bakers the country had to offer, and they weren't disappointed.

Now they were on the plane back to from Michigan to New York. They had just another six states left to see: Maine, New Hampshire , Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, but since those six states were small enough, they decided that the auditions for all of them will take place in Boston. But first, they were going to spend a few days in New York, at home.

He had missed his home, his brother and even Anna and Elsa. To be on this show had good parts and bad parts. The good parts were that he could see different kinds of baking, decorating and combining the ingredients. He learned a lot in the last eight weeks, from the people came on the show and presented them with their products or from Mary Margaret and Gold. Which brought him to the bad parts of the show. First, Robert Gold. He was around 55 and he was always angry or upset. Basically, he didn’t liked many things, he always had to make the participants' lives harder by asking some questions to which he didn't even know the answers, and sometimes he hated Killian. He didn’t know why for sure, but if he had to guess, he would say that Robert Gold hated him because he was the youngest (and because the female participants always liked to talk with him more than with the others). On the other side, he loved Mary Margaret. She was always happy, she always spoke like he was on high gear, even after ten hours of filming and tasting cakes (those that didn't scare them away first). Sometimes his problem with Mary Margaret was exactly this: she talked too much. Even on the plane when she talked non-stop for the last two hours with Gold, about some of the concurents.

“Personally I liked the contestant that came with jello swirl cupcakes with jello buttercream icing. The combination between jello and normal cream was heaven on earth.” She said about a woman who came at them with the cupcakes. He remembered them, their taste and the white and blue color the cupcakes and the frosting had.

“They were just that. Cupcakes. They had nothing special, Ms. Blanchard.” Gold told her without any emotion on his face. The man didn’t even looked at her, he was too absorbed in his phone.

“I don’t agree. Yes, the presentation wasn’t present, she did not had a big decorated plate, but it was simple and good.”

“What did you think Mr. Jones?” Gold asked him, finally taking his eyes out of the phone and looking insistently at him.

“I think they were good. The proportions between the jello and the cream were equal, and that didn’t it didn't change the color or the taste of the cupcakes, because it had a light flavor. If she would have put a little more jello the cupcakes would have changed and the fact that they didn’t it’s a good sign.” He said while he imagined the product in his mind.

Gold seemed happy enough with his answer because he just murmured a “Fine” and moved his attention back to the phone.

“What was your favorite Killian?” Mary Margaret asked him.

“Aside from the S’mores Camping cake?”

“Yes. Aside from that.”

“Well, remember when we were in California and a girl around 20 brought us a gluten-free pineapple coconut cake with passionfruit curd & vanilla buttercream?”

“Oh yes!”

“Well that was my favorite.  It was tropical and fruity, the cake itself was accentuated with roasted pineapple puree and coconut flour as well as desiccated coconut for texture, and was filled with thick layers of rich, tangy passionfruit curd. And of top of everything, it had a vanilla italian meringue coats for the top and sides. The passionfruit and coconut were  the stars there and not many people are going for such combinations.”

“Oh yes. And the decoration had something special. Can you imagine how much time she spent on that cake?”

“She seemed pretty sure of herself and I think she knew from the start what she has to do and how she has to do it.”

“Yeah, maybe, but still, you need some experience with such cakes. Honestly I don’t think she was an amateur.”

“No she wasn’t.”Gold started to talk again. “I thought you knew who Belle French was.”

“Should we?”

“Well yes, her father makes cakes for half of the Hoolywood.”

“Then I don’t think we can accept her for later.” Mary Margaret said with regret in her voice.

“Oh we will.”

“This show is for amators, Mr. Gold.” Killian said finally adding to the conversation

“I think Regina can be persued to accept someone else in her show. As long as she gets ratings and makes money.”

“Watch your tongue Mr. Gold.” Regina appeared out of nowere. “I’m here to tell you that we will arrive shortly in New York. Prepare for the landing. Oh, and Mr. Gold, I am not doing this show for ratings, fame or money.” Regina told him on a harsh tone.

With that they ended their discussion about participants and prepared for the landing. He couldn’t wait to arrive home!

* * *

Two hours later Killian entered his apartment.

“Home sweet home!” Killian yelled after he closed the door.

“Easy! You don’t need to yell!” A voice yelled back from the kitchen, then Liam appeared.

“Oi! Brother! What are you doing here?” Killian asked surprised. He didn’t know that Liam would wait for him in HIS apartment. He hoped that he would have a few hours just for himself before Liam’s arrival.

“Well, little brother, when Elsa found out that you were coming back today, she mentioned that after eight weeks out of town your fridge would be empty and she did not want you to die because you eat some old food. So I thought that it would be a good idea to come over here and make something for you.” Liam explained while hugging his brother

“Liam.” Killian started after Liam released him. “First, it’s younger brother, not little brother. Secondly, thank you, really. I was so tired and excited to come back here that I forgot to take something to eat. And third. Where is Elsa? I want to thank her as well.”

“She had something to do at the bakery, something about Anna and a new possible partner, but she said she will come here later.”

“Good. That woman is a blessing for you and for me.” Killian smelled around the house. “I bet you have something good for me. I am going to take a shower and then come back here and eat. You're going to eat with me as well and I won’t accept a refuse.”

Killian took his luggage and went to his bedroom. He had missed his room and after so many weeks away he finally understood the saying “there is no place like home”.

Thirty minutes later Killian was back in the kitchen with Liam. Two full plates of spaghetti with meatballs were already on the table and Liam was on his phone.

“You done?” He asked Killian raising his head from the phone.

“Yeah. You?”

“Yep. Eat.”

“Yes, captain.” Killian said smiling at him and putting his hand at his temple.

“Very funny.” Liam smiled at him. “Elsa messaged me. She said she’ll come here in about an hour.”

“Good.”

They started to eat together, in a confortable silence, but after a little while Liam spoke.

“So. Tell me when you couldn’t tell me on Skype.”

“And what is that?” Killian said.

“You know. Participants, new recipes, a new girl maybe?” Liam asked raising an eyebrow.

“I can’t talk with you about them. I… I can’t tell you names and stories and things like that but there are some that are very good in what they are doing. And there is no girl.”

“Are you sure? Not even the one from the jury?”

“Mary Margaret? No, no. She’s not my type.”

“You have a type now, don’t you?”

“Yes. Girls that are not too sweet and too innocent for someone like me who never loved anyone. Really loved.”

“Well I remember you told me about someone when I was in the Navy.”

“That was a one time thing and we're not talking about that again. She had a husband.”

“Fine. But Killian, one day you will need someone at your side.”

“You too, Liam. In fact, you should think more about YOUR love life since you are older. Leave my love life alone.” Liam started at him and Killian could see that his brother didn’t know what to do or say.

“I am with Elsa.” Liam finally said.

“Yes, but are things serious with you and Elsa?”

“Pretty serious.”

“What does that mean?

“I-I-“ Liam couldn’t finish his sentence because a knock on the door stopped him. “That must be Elsa.” Killian watched his brother walking out of the kitchen. His brother was smitten with the girl. Killian went after him and a few second later he was in front of Elsa.

“Killian!” Elsa said hugging him. “Welcome back!”

“Hey Elsa. How are you?” He asked guiding her into his living room.

“I’m coming in a second. Don’t start without me.” Liam said while entering in the kitchen again.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Elsa said looking after Liam then continued. “How is our new star?”

“Tired.” He said making a puppy dog face.

“Aww. Your big, older brother didn't let you rest?”

“Hey!” Liam said while entering again with three glasses.

“Well no. He didn’t stop talking about me and my-“

“Killian!” Liam stopped him.

“My time spent filming for the show.” Killian continued looking at Liam with a smirk. He had to give some credit to Liam, he knew what Killian wanted to say.

“Well he’s right. I want to hear your stories too.” Elsa said raising a shoulder and smiling playfully.

“There is time for that too. But first, I want to know. What is this new partner at the bakery? I went away for a few weeks and you are already looking for someone to take my place?” Killian teased her.

“You know I’m not! Anna was on a short holiday in Maine and she met a girl who according to Anna, makes “super-druper-woper” cakes. Anna wants to ask her to come and work with us, but apparently the girl refused because she was, her words not mine or Anna’s “a simple amateur” and she wasn’t sure if she could work for us. Anna wants me to go and talk with her.”

“Maine?”

“I know, not the best place for a holiday, but you know Anna.”

“And this girl is….?”

“Anna couldn’t remember her name, you know how she is when she is too excited about something. The only thing she remembered is that the girl had green eyes and blonde hair. Have you been to Maine with the show, yet?”

“No, we are going there in two days.”

“Maybe you’ll meet her!”

“After your description? Even if I do it, it would be hard to know that she was the girl.”

“Well, you never know, Killian. Maybe you do. Maybe, from stroke of luck she’ll come to the show and her cakes are really “super-druper-woper” and you fall for her!”

“What is wrong with you and Liam? You two need to concentrate on your own love life and leave mine alone. In fact, even if she would come to the show, I wouldn’t be able to move a finger because she did be a participant in the show and no matter how “super-druper-woper” her cakes would be, it you be against the rules.”

“Always a gentlemen, Killian. Same as your brother here.”

“It runs in the family, sweetheart.” Liam added.

“Ok, fine. I am going to leave you alone you alone about this. In fact, who am I to play with your fate?”  Elsa said.

“Thank you.” Killian said gratefully that she stopped this.

“Now. Tell me about your adventures.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forgert to vote for this story if you like it!   
> Here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer)   
> or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

When she entered the diner the first thing Emma heard was Ruby's voice.

“Emma! We have to talk. NOW!” Ruby yelled at her.

“Good morning to you too, Rubs.” Emma said annoyed.

She had a pretty good idea what Ruby wanted  talk to her about  and Emma wasn’t ready yet to hear Ruby talking about how foolish she was. And it was way too early for things like that.

“Emma how could you?” Ruby said when she was in front of her.

“How could I what?”.

“How could you turn down such an opportunity? Granny told me about that girl that offered you a job in New York, Anna? Remember her? Well guess what? She and her sister, Elsa, have one of the most popular  bakeries  in New York! And YOU just turned her down! WHY?”

“Ruby stop yelling at me, it’s eight in the morning and I  haven't had my coffee yet.” 

“But Emma....”

“Ruby I know.” Emma  turned to her annoyed . “I knew who she was the moment she entered in this diner. I don’t live  under a rock , I have internet, television and I use them. I knew who Anna was and what bakery she owned and that is exactly why I turned her down.”

“And why is that? Be more specific, please.”

“I’m an amateur. That bakery is way too much for me. They would have fired me on my second day there.” 

“What makes you say that?”

“Life? Experience? Don’t forget how much I tried to find a place to work in this town. Everyone refused me because I did not go to college and my experience was based on a four weeks class and internet courses. What makes you believe that it would have been something else in New York? It’s New York, Ruby, people have more requirements there. Which takes me to the next part of the problem. It’s New York. I would have to move there if I were to work there  which means i would have to move Henry too . He has to go to school, I can’t move him in the middle of the year.” Emma explained to her friend.

“You hide behind foolish reasons, Emma. That girl, Anna, she came to you to ask you work for them, it wasn’t you who went to her. And something tells me that she really wouldn’t care if you had college or not. And Henry would love New York.”

“Ruby stop trying. I refused and that’s it. I can’t do anything about it now, even if I wanted to.”

“Are sure?”

“Yes. Anna did not leave a phone number.”

“I’m sure you can find one on the internet if you really want it.” Ruby said looking at her and smiling.

“Ruby-“ Emma started again but stopped when Granny entered the kitchen.

“What are you two doing here?” She asked putting her hands on her hips. “Back to work, girls. Emma, you have to make more of your red velvet cupcakes. Someone came here this morning and took all of them.”

“I made 50 yesterday, Granny.” 

“And a man came and took them. He paid a lot, by the way.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. He said he’s working for a TV show in the neighborhood and they need some for the cast. He paid, I don’t care for the rest. Now back to work. Both of you.” Granny said going back to the counter. Emma looked at Ruby and when she saw her friend prepared to talk again Emma was faster.

“You heard your grandma. Back to work.” Emma said preparing herself for the new day. She had to make again at least 50 red velvet cupcakes again (which were a curse sometimes) and a cake for the birthday party of one of Henry’s friends for that night.

* * *

Ten hours later she was done with everything at the dinner.

She took Henry and the cake she made and went to his friend’s house. Henry would spend the night there which was actually a relief for Emma since she needed a night for herself with a bottle a wine and Netflix. Or a good book. She still had to think about that aspect. 

When she and Henry arrived in front of the door, Henry was the one who knocked because her hands were full with the cake and the gift Henry choose for Mike. A few seconds later Mrs. Jackson appeared.

“Henry, Emma! Come in!” She greeted them cheerfully. 

“Hello, Mrs. Jackson.” Henry said  politely .

“Hey Henry. Mike is upstairs if you want to go to him.”

“Sure! Thank you! Bye mom!” Henry said disappearing on the stairs and taking the gift with him.

“Come here Emma.” She said while entering in the kitchen. Emma followed her and put the cake on the table.

“Here it is! Mike’s cake.” 

Mrs. Jackson started to unwrap the cake and Emma looked at her reaction carefully. She worked six hours to make the cake as Mrs. Jackson requested.  On the outside was something simple, with light blue frosting decorated with black chocolate, but the inside was what was really  spectacular . On the inside, every new layer had a different color and a different taste.  

“Emma! This is exactly like in the picture I gave you. Thank you very much. How much do I owe you?” She asked taking out her purse.

“Oh, nothing. Really. It’s for Mike. Take it as a birthday present from me.” Emma said smiling at her.

“Are you serious?” 

“Of course! Mike is a good friend to Henry and he deserves it. At least I can do this for him. And  it was a pleasure to make , so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Thank you Emma.” Emma looked at her and smiled softly.

“You are very welcome. Now. My son is probably too absorbed in their games so I am going to go home now. If you don’t mind.”

“Yes of course.” They walked together to the door but Mrs. Jackson stopped her when they were there. “Oh, Emma. I was thinking. Have you heard about that show called “Bake off”?”

“Um no. What is it?”

“It’s a show, about amateur bakers. Well, it’s more like a contest, but everyone can go to the auditions and try. I’m telling you this because you are really good at what you are doing and maybe, if you want, you could participate. The show will be in Boston for the next three days. Maybe you should go.”

“I don’t know….”

“Well, your choice. I just wanted to let you know about it. Maybe you can search more and learn more about the show.”

“Thank you.” Emma smiled at her. “Have fun with the boys and good night.” She said exiting the house.

“G ood night .” Mrs. Jackson said behind her.

* * *

Back home, Emma took a glass of wine and sat on the couch with the laptop on her legs. She couldn’t decide between watching Outlander or Lucifer and after 30 minutes  without a decision (because come on, both Tom Ellis and Sam Heughan were too hot for this world and it’s a crime to put someone choose one of them) she went back to the recommendations section to see if she can find something else. That’s when she saw it. It was the latest season from the TV show “Bake off”, the one Mrs. Jackson mentioned.

Looking closely at the presentation image and at the description, Emma thought that maybe it wouldn’t hurt if she  watched  an episode or two. So she  clicked  play for the first episode, and four hours later she  started looking on Google for more informations about the show.

Indeed, the show would be in Boston for the next few days searching for more participants.

“Should I…?” Emma started to ask herself. “Should I go to the preselections?” 

She had a big dilemma. She looked again at the informations she found. On one hand it was a big opportunity for her, no one would ask her about her life, no one would care about what she had been thought and on the other hand…

Emma looked at the clock. It was 1:30am. She thought about calling Ruby for some advice but when she saw the time she realized that Ruby was either asleep or with some guy or girl so instead she just texted to her friend.

“We need to talk. Very seriously. I have a big dilemma and I need your help.”

Emma waited 20 minutes for Ruby’s response and when it didn’t come, Emma decided that she should go to sleep and wait for the morning.

* * *

In the morning Emma was the first person at Granny’s. She made herself a coffee and waited for Ruby to enter the restaurant.

At 8:00 Ruby arrived.

“Morning Emma! I am so sorry I didn’t respond to your message last night but I slept at Victor’s and well… you know. But don’t worry, I am here now and I’m all yours. Till 12AM when Victor comes here for lunch.” Ruby said smiling at her.

“Ruby have you ever heard of Bake off?”

“Oh sure! That TV show about cooking! What about it?”

“Well, the show will be in Boston for the next few days and I was wondering if I should participate.”

“Emma! That’s awesome!”

“Ruby wait! I don’t know what to do. To go there or not.”

“You should go. You should definitely go.”

“I’m really serious. Look, Emma. You need to stop thinking that you are not good. You are the best. People come at this restaurant in the middle of the day for you cookies not for Granny’s frozen lasagna.”

“I heard you girl!” Granny said coming from behind. “But Ruby’s right. Emma, sweetheart, you are amazing, your cakes are amazing and you should go to that show.”

“I don’t know... The competition will be so big.”

“Emma, it’s worth a try beside, when were you afraid of competition?” Ruby asked her.

“Today?”

“Don’t lie. You should go. You never know, maybe you will so good that you be selected for the next part of the show. Oh oh! Maybe you will win the show!” Ruby continued excited.

“Ruby. Lower your expectations.”

“Emma Swan, listen to me. If you don’t go to those preselections, I will follow you when you cook and I will destroy your butter cream and put pepper in your chocolate instead of cinnamon.”

“Fine, fine. Don't threaten my hot chocolate.” 

“Yes!” Ruby jumped clapping. “When are the preselections?”

“On Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

“And when do you want to go?”

“On Saturday. So I could have Henry with me.”

“What do you need?” 

“I need to make a cake for a few times, to make sure it will be perfect on Saturday. And I need someone to come with my there to watch Henry.”

“I will be there, don’t worry. Right Granny?”

“You can be sure of that. Both of us will go there. Our Emma needs us there.” Granny said looking proudly at Ruby and then at Emma. “Oh, and you can make your cake here and give it to the customers. That way you can see if they like it. Give a big piece of it to Leroy, too. If he’ll like he will tell you and if not he will definitely tell you.”

“That’s actually a really good idea, Granny! Thank you!” Emma told her smiling.

And it was. She could made the cake there, give it to the people and have Ruby spy on them for their reactions. And she’d give Leroy a good part of the cake. He was so pretentious and well... grumpy that he would say something if the cake won’t be good. Yeah. She could do that. She would make  her best cake, she would go to the preselections and would demonstrate them what she can do.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forgert to vote for this story if you like it!   
> Here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer)   
> or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

**_Saturday 8AM_ **

Killian was ready for another day of tasting good or bad cookies. At 7:30 he was in his trailer getting ready and  then he was hurried on this way to the building  where they will film today’s part of the preselections. 

“Alright everybody” Regina yelled when he entered the studio. “The first participant will enter that door at 9:30 AM and the last at 8:30 PM. We have almost 70 participants today so be patient, don’t throw food in their faces“ Regina looked at Gold “don’t be too kind and give them hope if they are really bad” she looked at Mary Margaret  “and for the love of God don’t flirt with them” she looked at him. “You here some red velvet cupcakes have. Robin took them yesterday from the city and they are really good so you can have one when you want. If you need anything don’t hesitate. Now, to your places!”

With that Regina  walked off  and left them to prepare. 

“Whant a cupcake, Killian?” Mary Margaret asked behind him.

“Sure.” Killian turned and took the cupcake from her. He took a bite and felt heaven in his mouth. “Oh wow!” 

“Right?” Mary Margaret said. “This cupcake is really good. 

“It’s better than some cupcakes we ate during these weeks. It’s heaven in your mouth when you taste it.”

“I know. I think I could live with them.”

“You are not wrong, love.” Killian told them.

“Are you two done?” Mr. Gold asked them. “Stop fangirling over a red cupcake we have a lot to do today.”

“Grumpy old man.” Killian said between his teeth loud enough to be heard by Mary Margaret.

“Leave him Killian.”

“Just because you are saying this, darling.” Killian smirked at her.

* * *

**_Saturday 9:30AM_ **

When Emma, Henry, Ruby and Granny arrived the participants were already entering with their  recipes  but Emma was relaxed she knew what she had to do, she received her number, she was told that she would see the jury at 3PM so she had enough time. 

“Are nervous mom?” Henry asked her.

“Not too much.”

“Then we’re good.” Her soon said smiling at her.

“Everything will be alright Henry.” She said smiling back at him.

“You don’t have to worry, Henry, Emma worked all week at this recipe. And there is no  judge  worst than Leroy. And she passed his tests.”

“But Mr. Gold isn’t Leroy!” Henry had watched the show all week, read about it, about the jury, gave his ideas of recipes and made sure she had what she needed for the right cake.  “But you will be fine if Mary Margaret Blanchard or Killian Jones talk with you. I hear they are the nicest.”

“And where did you heard that?”

“On Twitter. There are people talking about him and the preselections!”

“Hey you! Let the girl start her cake.” Granny  intervened .

“Don’t worry Granny. I can work with them around me.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Start working!” 

During the day Emma watched participants come and go. Some were happy because they were accepted to the next phase, some were sad, some were even crying while the others just didn’t care.

Shea heard them talking about the jury, about the “horrible Mr. Gold” or “the prettiest and cutest Mary Margaret” or about “the sexiest man alive”. She thought that last one had to be the third member of the jury, Killian Jones. She had to admit that she heard so many people talking about him (including her son) that she became curious about him. 

Still, nothing stopped her from making her perfect cake. Not the screams of joy or sadness and  definitely  not hearing people talking about the jury. Her cake was almost ready, it just had to cool and it was done. He was ready for anything.

* * *

**_Saturday 3PM_ **

Her cake was ready, everything was ready for presentation and she was really nervous.

“Mom you are shaking.”

“I know.”

“Are you alright?”

“Not really.”

“Emma. Everything will be alright.”

“You will be the best honey.”

“Emma Swan. You are next.” One of the guys is the staff said to her.

“Oh my god.”

“Go, mom! You will make it!”

“You are the best Emma.”

“Give them hell, girl!”

The distance between her family and the jury was short but for Emma it felt like a mile. When she entered the room the first thing she noticed was the jury. They were in front of a table, in the middle was a woman, Mary Margaret Blanchard she guessed, on her right an older man and on her left a younger man. She knew them, Robert Gold and Killian Jones, but she didn’t know which was who. If she was about to guess, her bet was that the younger is Killian Jones in which case, damn! Everyone was right about him. He was hot.

“Well hello there.” The younger one, Killian Jones, spoke. “Who are you?”

“My name is Emma Swan.” She said and for a second she was surprised that her voice seemed okay.

“Well hello Emma. I’m Killian Jones and this is Mary Margaret Blanchard and Robert Gold.” Emma looked at them. Mary Margaret smiled softly at her and nodded as in salute while Robert Gold... well, she knew how to read a person and he was  definitely  a bored person.

“What do you have there, love?” Killian asked her.

“Today I made an Irish Cream Cake.” She looked at him and she relaxed a bit when he was him putting on a big smile.

“Now that is something I really want to taste.” He said smirking, raising from his place and coming to the table  where the cake was. “Tell me about it? What do you think it makes your caked special?”

“I think that the Irish cream liqueur in this  cake  makes the recipe extra-special and the butterscotch filling and a cream cheese frosting make it divine.”

“You think?” Mr. Gold  interrupted  her.

“Let her speak, Gold. So, Miss Swan, are those your words?”

“To be honest no. My soon said those things.”

“You let your son eat something with liqueur?”

“Well, it doesn’t have too much liqueur,  it's acceptable  for a 10-year-old.”

“That’s a nice safe, love.” He smiled at her. “I like it. I like your cake,  it has a very good taste, it’s not too sweet, not too much liqueur and your soon was right the cream cheese frosting makes your cake divine.” He took the rest of the cake in his hand and looked at the others. “Do you want to taste it? Or can I eat everything?” 

“I want to try it!” Mary Margaret jumped.

When Mary Margaret came to taste her cake, Emma was filled with joy. She knew the cake was good, it was one of her best cakes ever but she didn’t  expect it to be so loved .

“You want some, Mr. Gold?” Mary Margaret asked him.

“I don’t like Irish things too much.” Mr. Gold responded and then looked at Killian.

“Don’t worry, love. He doesn’t like me either, don’t take it personally.” Killian told her. “You have a big yes from me.”

“And another from me.” Mary Margaret said.

When Emma looked at Mr. Gold he just said: “You already have two yes, you’ll go in the next phase without my opinion.”

“Um. Okay?”

“Congratulations, Emma Swan! You are in for the next phase of the show!” Killian told her.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

The first three weeks in the competition were the hardest. She had to go to New York, where the competition was filmed, she had to leave Henry in Boston because he had school and the competition was harder than she imagined. Some of the participants were really good, for example Belle French, but somehow, she  had managed  to stay in the completion so far.

In those weeks they had to pass some tests to demonstrate that they knew what they were doing there. In the first week they had to make a different type of dough each day and at the end of the week 15  participants  were out. In the second week they had to make the filling, all kinds of flavors and colors and at the end of the week another 20 participants were out. The third week was the hardest. They didn’t film all week just one day and in that day they had four hours to make a cake, with rainbow layers, for each layer the filling had to have another flavor and the caked had to be covered in a layer of colorful fondant. And of course it  had to taste good.

Each test was given by one of the members of the jury.  The first week's competition on dough was overseen by Mary Margaret. The fillings in the second week had been overseen  by Killian and the final week, dedicated to the whole week, was overseen by Mr. Gold which is why it was the hardest and why 35 of the participants were eliminated. She was almost one of the 35 who left because she felt sick that day and also the stress of the competition. Another reasons she was almost out of the competition was because her fondant wasn’t put very well on the cake. They had just two hours to finish their cakes and in the end hers wasn’t that good, mostly because her frosting was  stretched too thin , but when it came to choose between her and a girl from Texas, the jury (convinced by Killian Jones, but she wasn’t supposed to know that) choose her because her cake was better, it tasted better, the layers and the filling were as Gold wanted them.

Now, in the fourth week, there were just 30 participants of 100 at the beginning of the contest and Emma was one of them.

On Monday, the participants were called to a meeting with Regina, the producer of the show.

“Hello,” Regina  greeted them. “I called you here to explain what will happen next. From now on, there will be three  challenges  for each episode. One of them will be based on your imagination, we’ll give you a recipe or an ingredient and you’ll have a different time each time to make something with them. The second will be given by one of the members of the jury or we will invite a  celebrity guest  to give you something to cook. When this happens, you’ll have not three but four juries. The third  challenge  won’t be for everyone.  The third challenge won't include everyone, only those who did not do too well, or didn't perform up to our standards, in the other two challenges.  At the end of this test, one, two or maybe even all of them will leave the competition. Questions?”

Everyone looked at regina dumbfounded, and when no one said anything she continued.

“Okay then. If no one has any questions, you are free. We are starting tomorrow morning at 10.”

 

Everybody prepared to leave. Emma knew she wanted to ask something to Regina she just didn’t knew if it was the right moment. So she waited until all the participants left and then she went to talk with her.

“Miss Mills?” Regina turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, Miss Swan?”

“I have a question.”

“Why didn’t you ask when I said? Maybe it’s something the other should hear.”

“It’s more of a personal problem. Please.”

“Ok, fine.” Regina said and made a sign to continue.

“I was wondering if my child can come to visit me?” Emma said softly.

“Miss Swan, you know the rules. The participants can’t visit or receive visits from other members of the family until the end of the show.”

“I know, I know. But I really miss him. Please.”

“If he comes here then the others will want the same. They’ll want their families here with them.” Regina explained to her.

“Please.” Emma tried again.

“I’m sorry, Emma.” And with that Regina started to walk away.

Emma went and sat on a chair. She started to think about Henry and how much she missed him. They talked on Skype when she could, when they finished filming for the day and Henry (who’s staying with David) was still awake, but it wasn’t the same. She missed his hugs, his smiles, him.

 

Emma was so caught in her  thoughts  that she didn't realize when someone sat on the other chair beside her. That’s why she was surprised when she heard Killian talking.

“Are you okay, love?”

Over the weeks they developed something like a friendship. They talked between takes but never about the show. It was mostly Killian who talked and Emma who listened or Killian who flirted with her and Emma who rolled her eyes at him. Ok, maybe she flirted with him for a few times.

“Um, yes.” She said without looking at him.

“You don’t look very good, Swan.” He told her.

“Well, thank you Killian.” She said looking at him this time.

“You know what I mean.” He smiled at her. “What happened Emma?”

“What makes you believe that something happened?”

“Open book, love. Tell me.”

“Umm…”

“Have a little faith, Swan. You can trust me.”

“I miss my son.” She finally said to him.

“He’s in Boston, right?”

“Yes. And I’m here and he’s there and we talk when we can, but I miss him, I miss hugging him and joking with him…”

“Why don’t you tell him to come here?”

“I asked Regina. She said he can’t come because if the others see him here they will want their loved one here, too,” she said sadly putting her face in the hands and looking at the ground again.

“Bullshit! He is your son, Swan. He should be here with his mother. Regina can’t stop this.”

“I can’t do anything Killian…”

“Hm… We shall see about that.” Killian said winking at her. “Now come, now stop with the sad face. Go and take a walk, enjoy this free day.” And with that Killian stood and exited the room.

* * *

 

Later that night, she was ready to go to sleep when she heard a knock on the door.

“Um. Who is it?” She asked looking suspiciously at the door.

“It’s me, Swan. Open the damn door.”

_ “What the fuck?”  _ Emma asked to herself. He shouldn’t be here. Emma looked at herself, she was in a blue night dress, very short and strapless. Well, she didn’t had time to chance so…

When Emma opened the door she found a stunned Killian on front of her.

“Uh…” Was the only sound that came from him.

“Can I help you?” She asked feeling a big strange under his eyes.

“Um yes. Put a jacket on you and follow me.”

“What?” Emma said surprised.

“Trust me. I have something to show you.”

“Can’t I change in something else?”

“We don’t have time, Emma. And I shouldn’t be here anyway…” He said, his eyes pleading  with   her to  hurry up.

“Um.. Okay."

She took a pair of boots, her red leather jacket and her phone and followed him. They  exited  the building and walked to the back of the building.

“What are we doing here, Killian?”

“Relax, Swan. I’m not going to kill you.”

“Funny.”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“What is that?” She asked curious. They stopped in front of a gate when Killian said:

“Just look”

He opened the gate and she almost started to cry.

“Henry!”

“Mom!”

Henry jumped in her arms and she could swear she  had never been .

“How? What are you doing here?”

“I came with uncle David!”

“What? David is here?”

“Well, he’s not here right now, but he is here with me.”

“I told you that what Regina said is bull…. false, Swan,” Killian said.

“You did this?” She asked him.

He did not answer, he just winked at her and smiled.

She spent 30 minutes with Henry. Killian stayed with them  the whole time . Emma  introduced  Killian to Henry and she was beyond happy when she saw Henry’s happiness when she  introduced  Killian. They talked with Henry, Killian told him more about his hobby with boats (“Ships, Swan” as Killian corrected her) until David came. She was happy to see her brother there. She thanked him for taking care of Henry and when she hugged Henry for goodbye she almost started crying.

“Don’t cry, mom. You’ll see me again tomorrow. If you can.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re staying in the city for a few days!” Henry said excited.

“What? Really?!” Emma saying looking at David.

“Yes. Why did you think I was gone? I was looking for a room at a hotel.”

“Don’t know. But what about school?” She asked Henry.

“We are on break mom,” Henry said like it was an obvious thing.

“Oh yes! I forgot!”

“We should go,” David said.

“Yes, you should. It’s past bed time.”

“I’ll see you again, mom. Bye Killian.”

“Bye lad. Have a good night.”

She and Killian watched Henry and David leave and after that they went together back into the building. Emma insisted that he didn’t have to follow her back to her room but he did anyway.

“Thank you, Killian,” Emma said when they were in front of her door.

“I told you there was a way.”

“How did you do it?”

“A man has his secrets.”

“Thank you very much, Killian. I really missed him.”

“You don’t have to thank me, love. I’m just glad I  could help  you.”

She looked at him. His eyes followed her  movement  and when she saw him leaning to her face she thought that he will kiss her. She realized that she wouldn’t be against the idea. But his lips stopped on her cheek where they stayed for a few, long seconds.

“Goodnight, Emma Swan,” Killian said looking his eyes with hers.

“Goodnight, Killian Jones.” Emma pressed a quick kiss on his cheek and then entered her room.

What she didn’t know was that Killian stayed there for a few more minutes with his fingers pressed where she kissed him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

The next day, the first thing Killian did when he woke up was call his brother. He couldn’t sleep all night thinking about Emma and he hoped that talking with Liam would help.

Ignoring the fact that it wasn’t even 7 am and Liam probably wasn’t awake he pressed his name, put the phone on speaker and waited. After it rang five times Killian was ready to hang up, thinking that maybe he’s brother wouldn’t answer when he heard Liam’s voice.

“What?” His brother said annoyed.

“I’m screwed.” Was the first thing Killian said to him.

“Good morning to you too, brother,” Liam answered grumpy. “May I ask what happened? And why the bloody hell do you want to talk to me this early?”

“I’m so screwed, Liam.” Killian said again.

“Why, Killian?”

“Do you remember when I told you about Emma?” Killian asked.

“The girl from Boston, right?” Liam asked him. Killian told Liam about Emma and her Irish cake after the preselections in Boston.  He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed by her and her skills.

“Yes, she’s the one. Well I’m-”

“Screwed, yes, I get it.” Liam said annoyed again. “Why do you say that, Killian? And if you won’t tell me this time I will end this call right now and I’ll go back to sleep.”

“Ok, ok. So, yesterday she  seemed upset   and I went to her and I asked her what happened and she said she missed her soon who is back in Boston.”

“I hope you didn’t do anything stupid, Killian.”

“I did. I found her file, from when she signed up for the contest and I found the phone number of her brother who, I found out later, is taking care of her son. So I called him and told him to come here with her son so Emma could see him.”

“Killian. Isn’t that against the rules?” Killian could feel  the judgement in his voice.

“Yes, it is.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“She was so sad, Liam. I just wanted to make her smile. I don’t know...” And he really didn’t know. 

“And you did it?”

“Yes. I must admit she has a very beautiful smile.” Killian said smiling to himself.

He thought back about the previous night. Her  face had lit up  when she saw her son and her brother, the sparkling in her eyes when they went back to her room. The kiss on the cheek, his kiss, and the fact that he let his lips linger there longer than was necessary.

And lastly that damn blue dress. She had looked so bloody beautiful in that dress and her legs were incredibly long.

“Killian? You still there?” Liam interrupted his thoughts

“Yes. I was thinking.”

“About?”

“About yesterday.”

“Is that all you did yesterday?” Liam asked him. “You just invited her brother and her son in New York to see her happy?”

“Well... “Killian hesitated. There was that little kiss. He could imagine what Liam would say if he told him about it.

“Killian?” That’s it. He had to tell him. Liam was his brother he would know if Killian  lied to him.

“There was a kiss. A little kiss. On the cheek.” He said quickly.

“You kissed her?!”

“It was on the cheek!”

“Killian!”

“Look, Liam. It was a little something on the cheek, nothing more. I don’t even think this qualifies as a kiss.”

“Did you kiss her or did she kiss you?” Liam asked him.

“I kissed her and she kissed me after that.”

“Killian be careful. You know what might happen if you take this too far.” Liam’s voice sounded worried.

“Nothing will happen.” He told to his brother.

“I know you Killian. I don’t know her but I know you. Beside, what if she has someone back in Boston? What if the father of her son is there? He must have a father.”

“She’s not married.”

“How do you know that?”

“She doesn’t have a ring.” Killian insisted.

“She might not be married but the father of her child could be there, Killian.” Liam insisted as well.

“Liam, please. So Gold is allowed to be involved with someone from the contest, but I’m not?” Killian asked annoyed.

“What do you mean?” Liam asked  immediately .

“Gold has something with Belle French. Or more like FOR Belle French. Everyone saw it and no one says anything. Not even Regina.”

“Well, you are not Robert Gold.”

“No, he’s older and uglier.” Killian said amused.

“You know what I mean, Killian.”

“Whatever, Liam.” Killian tried to give up. He knew that there is no end to this discussion and Liam would convince him to do the best thing.

There was a short pause between them in which no one said anything when Killian looked at the clock and realized that he had to get ready or he’d be late.

“Look.” Killian broke the silence. “I have to get ready for today. Can you do something for me, Liam?”

“Sure.”

“Ask Elsa and Anna if they are willing to come and participate at one of our tests. I told Elsa something about it, she’ll know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll ask them. Have a nice day Killian. Take care of your… little problem.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll talk to you later, Liam.”

Killian ended his conversation with Liam but he couldn’t stop thinking about Emma. He realized what might happen if what he felt right now for her  evolved  and to be honest he didn’t know what he felt right now.

No. He’s wrong.

He knew what he felt right now for her. _ He liked her and he liked her a lot. _

* * *

Emma woke up feeling good.. It was the first time she felt like this since she came to New York for the competition and she had a feeling that having Henry with her in New York had something to do about her good mood. She didn’t even know how she should repay Killian for what he did for her but she knew she had to at least thank him properly not just a ‘thank you’ in the night. But also she knew that today she wouldn’t have much time to talk with him alone.

She  she got out of bed and looked at the clock . She had to be on set at 9:30 and it was already 8:00. She jumped in the shower, put some clothes on, braided her hair on a fishtail braid over her left shoulder, took her purse and left her room.

In the hallway she met Belle French.

“Morning, Belle,” She said to the girl.

“Oh… um… morning, Emma.” She responded without looking at her.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked her.

“Everyone avoids me. I’m just surprised you’d talk with me.”

“Oh! What happened?” Emma  didn't talk to Belle very much but she was very good at baking and she seemed like a nice girl.

“Everybody believes that there is something going on between me and Mr. Gold…” Emma was surprised to hear that. She can’t remember a time where she saw Belle talking with Mr. Gold. True, she saw him showing interest in her, especially when he judged her food, but she never saw Belle doing the same.

“Why do they….”

“Believe that? I don’t know… I don’t even talk with him too much… Only when I need to… And usually that’s when we film a new round...”

“Maybe it’s because of him?” Emma asked softly.

“Maybe, I don’t know… The thing is… I don’t want people to believe that I get favors from the jury… And some already do that…”

“Yeah…”

If people thought that about Belle… what would happen if they heard about what Killian did for her yesterday? What would happen if someone saw them on the hallway last night?

“Are you okay, Emma?” Belle asked her when she saw that Emma stopped talking.

“Yeah, I am. Don’t worry Belle. I don’t believe anything about you. Actually no, that’s a lie. I think you’re a really good person and an amazing baker.”

“Thank you, Emma. You are really great too.” Emma smiled at her.

They walked on set together and when they entered the room Emma saw the looks Belle received from the rest of the people.

“Hey, Emma, do you mind if I stay with you today?”

“Of course not.”

They took two tables in the middle of the room and started to prepare. Soon after that the jury appeared with Regina in front of them. Her eyes were on Killian and she almost started to blush when he turned his head and saw her looking at him. He  held her gaze , put on a little, almost invisible smile and tried to wink at her. Emma wanted to laugh but that would attract too much attention on her so she just put her hand on her mouth and tried to cough.

“Alright everyone!” Regina started to talk and Emma had to  tear her attention from him . “In the first round you’ll have to prepare 20 cupcakes! They must have at least four different flavors. You have two and a half hours  complete you task !”

And with that they started baking. Emma decided to make 10 cupcakes based on cocktails: Piña Colada and Margarita, 5 cupcakes with snickers and 5 with raspberry lemon. She started working, mixing the ingredients carefully and putting the cupcakes in the oven.

She finished preparing the 10 cupcakes based on cocktails and started working on the cupcakes with raspberry lemon when his voice appeared behind her.

“What are you making here, Miss Swan?” Emma turned and saw Killian with Mary Margaret.

“I’m starting mixing the ingredients for a few cupcakes with raspberry lemon.” She answered looking at him and then back at the ingredients.

“And what else?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Well, I also have cupcakes with Snickers and 10 cupcakes that are surprises and I can’t really tell you about them.”

“What  surprises  do you have there, Swan?”

“Well, it won’t be a surprise if I tell you, right?”

“Right.” Killian said smirking at her.

Mary Margaret and Killian left shortly after that to talk with another participant and she went back to work.

Two hours later the cupcakes were done and she was ready to go with them to the jury. When her turn came  she stepped up to the judges. Emma couldn’t deny the fact that she was a little nervous. She had made all these cupcakes before for her friends and even at Granny’s and people always loved them.

“What do we have here?” Mary Margaret asked her.

“I made five cupcakes with snickers, five with raspberry lemon, five cupcakes with Margarita cocktail and five with Piña Colada.” Emma answered confident on her cupcakes.

“Did you made cupcakes with cocktails, Miss Swan?” Gold asked her from his place.

“Yes.”

“Not exactly something I would like to eat.” He continued.

By now Emma was used with his behavior and she wasn’t worried about him. She understood that Robert Gold doesn’t care too much about the show or about what he has to do  on the jury .

“It may not be something you’d like but I’d like to try them.” Killian said coming in front of her. “Which are Piña Colada, Swan?”

“These ones.” Emma said showing him the cupcakes with white frosting and coconut flakes on top.

“Thank you.” Killian said as he took one. He bit into it and Emma waited for his reaction. She had to stop herself from doing something she would regret when she heard him moaning, slowly enough to be heard just by her. “These are really good. The cupcakes with cocktails w ere the surprises you mentioned , Swan, or you have something else prepared?”

“They were the surprises.”

“A nice surprise I must say.” He said then took a  margarita cupcake and went back to his place.

“I’ll take one with snickers.” Mary Margaret told her.

“Well, I guess the raspberry lemon is mine, isn’t in?” Robert Gold said coming in front of her. He took one, taste it and then put it back on the tray. “A little too sweet for me.” He told her. Emma just nodded.

“Thank you Emma.” And with that she went back to her table.

Another 30 minutes went by while the others went with their cupcakes to the jury. While Emma waited she could eat some of her cupcakes and she could say that Mr. Gold was wrong about her raspberry lemon cupcakes. When everyone  had presented their cupcakes to the jury , Regina announced the ranking after the first test and Emma was the first while Belle and Jefferson were on the second and third places. After everyone found out what they have done in the first challange of the day,  have a short break before the second test later in the day.

While on break, Emma found a chair away from the others and took out her phone. She was in the middle of a video on Facebook when Killian appeared in front of her.

“Do you have more cupcakes?” He asked her  with a certain amount of desperation.

“Um… no, sorry. Belle, the others and I ate them.”

“Oh no. This is how I’m going to die. Because you are out of those amazing  cocktail cupcakes .” Killian made a funny face at her and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“I’m sorry. But you’re right, they were really good.”

“Where did you learn how to make cakes with alcohol, Swan? Many people don’t and you, my dear, you just made  cocktail cupcakes and I still remember the taste of your Irish cake from the preselections. So how did you do it?” Killian asked her seriously while sitting on a chair next to her.

“Back in Boston I worked at a diner. They had alcohol there and I liked to experiment. One day, I found a video on YouTube about how to make “Banana cupcakes with bourbon butterscotch filling and toasted marshmallow frosting”. So I tried to do it and by mistake I put too much bourbon. The owner of the diner wanted to eat it while I wasn’t in the diner so you can imagine what happened.”

“He got tipsy?”

“He is more like a she and she is a 70 years old lady.” She said laughing at him.

“Wow. Was she okay?”

“She was very okay that day.” Emma said remembering Granny that day and the fact that she almost gave everyone free food. “She loved it actually and she wanted me to make more. And I did and that is how I started to make cakes with alcohol.”

“And can you make more?”

“Mhm. I have a whole list with cakes of all kinds that have alcohol in them.” She told him smiling.

“That’s nice.”

“You have no idea.”

“Maybe you can make some for me.” He said raising an eyebrow at her.

“Uh… maybe? Or maybe I can give you a copy of the list and then you can make them for yourself?” She said smiling playfully.

“That would be lovely.”

They continued to talk about baking for a few minutes until Regina called everyone back for the next round. Emma realized, deep down, what they just did. They were flirting, in public, where everyone could see them and yet Emma realized that she didn’t have any problem with it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

The second challenge of the day was Killian’s idea.

“You will have to  come forward .” Killian started to tell them. “Then you will pull out one ticket from this bowl.” He continued showing to a bowl in front of him. “Every ticket has a country written on it. Based on that country you’ll have to bake a pie traditional for your  chosen   country. If you don’t know one, we’ll help you by telling you one.” He finished.

Every person started to go and pick a ticket. She heard countries like Ireland, France, Spain and Russia. When her turn came she went in front of the jury and picked a  ticket She picked a ticket and fumbled with it nervously before finally opening it and staring at it.

“It’s Romania,” She said  in surprise

“Do you know any pies from Romania?” Killian asked her.

“Um… no.” Emma answered to him.

“Okay. You’ll have to make a make a pie based on salty cheese and also you’ll have to make the layers of the pie really thin.” Killian instructed her. “The pie it’s called Cheese pie, but you have to be careful, it is not a cheescake as we all know it. This one has cheese between the layers and and there are not more that three layers. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Emma asnwered to him.

“If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask me!” Killian told her before she could leave. 

“Thank you.” She told him understanding what she had to do.

After everyone had their countries and their pies, the jury left the room and let them work. They would come back when the time was over to discuss about their pies.

Emma went back to her table and started to take out everything she needed. She had to start with the  pastry  first. She needed flour, water, oil and salt. She started to mix them and after they were ready she put the mix in a bowl and cover it with a towel after that she started to prepare the filling. While she worked she saw Regina with a cameraman coming to her.

“ How's it going , Miss Swan?” Regina asked her.

“Very good. It’s not a hard recipe and I like making pies.” She answered without stopping.

“What are you doing here, right now?”

“I’m making the filling for the pie.”

“Tell us more about  yourself , Emma.” Regina continued.

“About me?”

“Yes, about you, your past, how did you start to bake .”

“Well” Emma started “The first time I baked something was when I was eight years old. I helped my brother make a cake for our  mother's'  birthday and I liked it very much. After that I started cooking more, I helped my mother around the kitchen and over the years I started baking from books.”

“What made you want to participate in this competition?”

“I wanted to be able to offer more things to my son. It wasn’t an easy decision, I had to think a lot but in the end I’m glad I came here.”

“Where is your son now?” Regina asked her lifting an eyebrow. She must  have known  something if she asked her about her son. Henry  hadn't come to  New York until last night and yesterday she had told to Regina that he was in Boston. So Emma decided to lie and see what  happened .

“He is in Boston with my brother.”

“Do you have a husband Emma?”

“Um no.”

“Boyfriend?”

“What is this Regina?” Emma asked her stopping working, knowing that they  would  cut her question when  they edited  the episode. Regina looked at her and told to the guy to stop the camera.

“Just answer Emma. People will want to know such things about the participants, especially about the ones that are amazing.”

“And I’m one of them?”

“To your surprise, yes, you are. So stop  asking  questions, answer to mine and make your pie.” She then told to the guy to start the camera again. Emma looked at the mix for the pie. It was almost ready. She had to put everything in the oven in time or her pie  wouldn't  be ready for the judgment. Emma thought that if she  answered  Regina’s question quickly she  would  have enough time.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” Emma answered. 

“Then where is the father of the child?”

“He’s gone.”

“Like in…?” Regina must have realized that this story wasn’t what she expected because she started to  back off  of a little.

“Not dead.” Emma answered to the unspoken question. She knew that if this  wasn't be cut  during  editing, there was a big chance that Neal would see it and yet, somehow, she wasn’t scared. So she just continued. “He’s just not around.”

“What happened?”

“We had a story together.” Was all she said and she hoped that it was enough for Regina.

“So it’s just you and your son.”

“Well I also have my brother and my friends. And Granny!”

“Who is she?”

“Granny is the owner of the diner where I worked before the contest. She offered me a job as a baker at her diner in Boston and that’s where I learned to bake everything.”

“Your story is really something  unexpected , Emma.” Regina told her.

_ “You have no idea” Emma said in her mind. _

With that Regina and the man  left  her alone. She looked at the clock and realized that she still had enough time to finish her work. In the last 40 minutes she arranged the pie and put it in the oven then waited for 20 minutes and when the big clock signaled the end of the test her pie was already put on a plate, waiting to be  tasted .

Soon after that Killian, Mary Margaret and Gold entered the room again and they started looking, tasting and commenting about the pies. Since everyone had to make a different pie there were 30 pies all of them with  different ingredients , some were with fruits, some with meat and some with vegetables. She was  surprised  to see that her pie was one of the easiest.

After the jury  tasted  all the pies they went  to the  front of the room, with Regina, to decide who was the ‘Baker of the Week’ and who the three people who entered the last test were. After a few minutes of talking, Regina, Killian, Mary Margaret and Gold turned to face them.

“The jury decided, based on the first and second round, who will be the ‘Baker of the Week’ today.” Regina told them.

“Everyone was perfect today” Mary Margaret started. “I wanted to congratulate you for your cupcakes and you pies. But sadly, three people will have to go in the last round.” She ended.

“Emma.” Killian looked at her. He had a hint of sadness in his eyes and Emma had the feeling that this was it. This is the day she goes home. She made a step forward and waited for Killian to continue. “Your cupcakes were amazing. Not many people  add  alcohol in cakes and even fewer succeed in making something good after they put the alcohol. Your pie was also good. I liked the layers because they weren’t burned, they were soft and had a good taste while the filling was even better, it didn’t had too much salt and it had enough cheese. I liked it.”

“I have to agree with him.” Gold started to talk. “And we all know I don't say this lightly . Your pie was good Miss Swan.”

“Thank you.” Was all Emma could say. Since her first time here Gold had something to criticize about her cakes and now he was finally pleased.

“They are right, Emma. You did very well today and for this you are The Baker of the Week!” Mary Margaret announced happy for her. “Come.” She made a sign for her to go to her.

Mary Margaret put a little pin into Emma’s apron and congratulated her. After that Emma went back to her place and waited to see who were the other three.

“Now the persons who will be in the last round.” Killian started to talk. “Zelena Green, Ashley Boyd and Abigail Prince.  We'll see you back here in 30 minutes.”

With that the three of them left the room. Emma was beyond happy for her status from today. She already had a plan of going into the city and take Henry and David out. The other participants come to her to congratulate her  including  Zelena, Ashley and Abigail. Ashley and Abigail congratulated her but Zelena had other plans.

“You must be into something with Killian Jones.” She told her.

“Excuse me?” Emma looked at her.

“Did you know what we’d have to do this round? Did you make Killian give you the easiest pie?” Zelena continued.

“What are you insinuating, Zelena?”

“I saw you and Killian talking after the first round. You two looked really into the conversation and then you receive the easiest pie to do and you win.”

“Don’t be jealous, Zelena. It’s not my fault you had to make a pie with spinach!” Emma told her.

“Come on, Zelena. Emma was really good today.” Belle said from behind her.

“Shut up pretty girl. Or I’ll start saying something about you and Mr. Gold.”

“Hey!” Emma intervened. “Leave her alone.”

“Oh, you made a new friend today? Maybe you are good for each other, you have Killian Jones and she has Mr. Gold. I bet you’ll be really good friends.”

“You know what, Zelena?” Emma started to tell her. “Why don’t you go and prepare for your test? Who knows, maybe it will be your last one here.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?” And with that Emma exited the room nervous.

She hated the whole situation. She knew that she really talked with Killian but Zelena didn’t know and neither did the others and she knew that Zelena could and probably would make the others believe what she believed.

“Uh!”

She entered her room,  threw  her apron on a chair and entered the bathroom. She toke a shower mostly with cold water to calm her,  wrapped  a towel around herself and sat on the bed. She sendt a message to David to met her where they meet last night in an hour and then opened her laptop.

* * *

An hour and a half later Emma was in the city with Henry and David. Belle tried to talk with her on her way out of the building but she said that she has to be somewhere really soon so she escaped. Now she was l looking for a place to stay with her boys for a place to stay and enjoy the night together..

“What about this place?” David said stopping in front of an Irish Pub.

“Since when do you like Irish things?” Emma said.

“Since I want to drink a Guinness.”

“Ok. Are you okay with it, kid?”

“Sure!”

They entered the pub and found a table. David ordered a Guinness for him, Emma an Irish coffee and Henry a juice. They stayed there together and talked about what Emma did that day and about winning the new title. Henry was excited to hear that Emma won and he made her promise that after the competition ended she would make him the same pie.

“Look!” Henry said looking at the entrance of the pub.  

Emma turned to look and she was  surprised  to see Mary Margaret and Killian enter.

“Oh.”

“Hey Killian!” Henry said when they were close to  their table . Both Killian and Mary Margaret turned into their direction.

“Hello, lad. Emma.” Killian said smiling at them.

“Henry this is Mary Margaret.” Emma presented her to her son. “Mary Margaret this is Henry, my son.”

“Hello, Henry.” Mary Margaret smiled at him. “What are you doing in New York?”

“My uncle bought me here for my break from the school, to enjoy this week of vacation and since my mother is here too we decided to  spend some time together .” Henry said the lie they agreed on just in case something like this happens.

“That’s nice.”

“Want to sit?” Emma asked them.

“Sure!” Mary Margaret took a look at them and the sit beside Henry where it was a bigger place, leaving place for David and Killian sat beside Emma.

“I expected to see you there before the last round.” Killian told her.

“I had to leave and meet Henry and David.” She lied to him. She knew Killian saw the lie behind her eyes and also she knew that they would surely talk about it.

“Oh.”

David, who was coming from the bathroom, seemed surprised to see the new addition. He sat beside Mary Margaret after their introduction. They hit it off very quickly to Emma’s surprise because they started to talk more and more with each other and at a moment they even went together at the bar for another round of drinks leaving Emma, Killian and Henry together at the table.

“Killian.” Henry started “I was wondering if you could tell me more about your ship? It sounds really amazing!”

“Sure, lad. What do you want to know?”

“Does she have a name?”

“Well, of course she has.”

“What is it?” Henry asked excited.

“The Jolly Roger.”

Emma couldn’t stop herself when she heard the name and started to laugh.

“It’s bad form to laugh at a man’s ship, Swan.”

“Sorry, sorry. But really? The Jolly Roger?” Emma asked trying to calm herself.

“I was a big fan of Peter Pan when I was a child.” Killian started to explain. “I almost got a tattoo with a ship on my back. Luckily my brother stopped me.”

“Wow. You are really invested in this thing. Henry hates the story.”

“Why, lad?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t like it. I mean, Captain Hook is awesome because he’s a pirate but I hate the rest.”

“I like Captain Hook, too. I always went dressed as him on Halloween.”

“We should have a test about Disney in the competition.” Mary Margaret said coming behind them.

“Maybe we should.” Killian said looking at Emma.

She looked at him, in his eyes more exactly and remembered what Zelena said. She hated that after a few hours in the company of her son, her brother and Mary Margaret and Killian, Zelena’s words were still in her mind.

“I don’t know what to say about it.” Emma told them.

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but I have to go home. We have another long day tomorrow and I’d like to have some rest before.” Mary Margaret said.

“Yeah. I should leave too, Henry.” Emma said to him.

“It’s okay. I guess it’s already past bed time, right?”

“Right and I adore you for remembering.”

They took their things and  exited .

“We have to go in this direction for the hotel.” David said to Emma.

“Oh… Okay. Come here kid.” Emma hugged Henry, kissed his temple and wished him a good night.

“My home is in the same direction.” Mary Margaret announced them. “Bye Emma, bye Killian. See you tomorrow.” She told them.

“Bye Mary Margaret, good night. Bye guys!” Emma told to all of them.

“I guess it’s just us, love.”

“In which direction is your house?” Emma asked him when they started to walk.

“Oh, I’m sleeping with you and the rest of the participants in the same building.”

“Really? How? Can’t you go to your own houses during the night?”

“Well, Regina let us choose where we want to sleep. If our homes were close to the studio, we could have spent the nights in our homes but if they weren’t we could have spent the nights in the same building as you. My apartment is in another part of the city so I  chose  to sleep in the same building.”

“I see.”

“May I ask you something, Emma?” Killian asked her.

“You already did.” She told him smiling. “But ok, you can ask something else.”

“What was the real reason you left the studio earlier?” Emma thought about her response. She could lie again or she could tell him the truth about Zelena but somehow she knew that if she told him a lie  he would know.

“Zelena told me some things that made me angry so I couldn’t stay there anymore.”

“What things?”

Emma took a deep breath and looked at him. There was something in his eyes that made her continue.

“She saw us talking before the second round. She didn’t know what we were talking about but she decided that you told me what the second round was about and that you gave me the easiest pie on  purpose .”

“She said what?”

“Yeah. She also said that this is why I won today.”

“Your pie was amazing, Swan. And I would never do that. I gave you that pie because that’s what people do in Romania.”

“I know. But I got angry and I just couldn’t see her face anymore.”

“Now I regret that I didn’t eliminate her.” Killian said without looking at her.

“She’s still in the contest?”

“Yeah. At the end we had to choose between her and Ashley, and when it came down to my vote , I had to chose Ashley because I think the stress of the competition was too much for a pregnant girl. I thought about her well being and about her child.”

“You’re telling me.” Emma said thoughtful. “I’m glad you did it. Ashley was good but she needed to rest.”

“You were in the same position as she is now?”

Emma knew Ashley’s story because the girl told them how she got pregnant. Her mother hated it, the father of her boyfriend hated the idea, they wanted to baby gone but Ashley and Sean decided to keep it. Her mother threw her out of the house and Sean’s dad did the same but both Ashley and Sean had enough savings to rent a room for the two of them. Ashley wanted to win the contest so they could have a future for their child. Emma’s story wasn’t like that.

“Mine is nothing like hers. The father of her child is still with them.”

“What happened with Henry’s father?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Perhaps I would.”

Emma looked in his eyes. The intensity of his sincerity hit her hard.

“That’s… that’s a story for another time.” She told him.

They continued to walk together but when they were close to the building Emma stopped and when Killian realized he stopped too.

“What’s wrong?”

“We shouldn’t go together inside. Someone might see us together and then what happened with Zelena might happen again.”

“You’re right. You should go first Emma. I’ll wait five minutes, take a walk around the building or something.”

“Thank you. Good night, Killian.”

“Night. Sweet dreams, love.

“You too.” Emma smiled at him and e ntered the building .

“You have no idea, love.” Killian said to himself.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

A few days went by since the night at the pub. Emma tried to avoid Killian to prevent spreading rumors but it was almost impossible since the man was almost always behind her. She  hadn't talked to Zelena since that day but neither did she and Emma was happy for that. Since then they  had   filmed another episode and Zelena  was chosen for the third round but this time Mr. Gold saved her.

She hung out with Henry and David every day and wasn’t surprised when David asked her about Mary Margaret. Emma promised him that  when she left the competition, either with the big prize or before that, she would ask Mary Margaret for her number and give it to David.

Now they were filming episode 10 and they were 24 participants. They filmed the first round earlier that day and now everyone waited for instructions for the second round. Emma was with Belle, Will and Jefferson talking when they saw Regina, Killian, Mary Margaret and Gold entering in the room. They stopped talking and looked at the jury.

“Everyone please go to your places.” Regina said. After a minute everyone was back at their desks prepared for another round. “Today we’ll have our first special guests and today they will give you a very special theme. They are two girls, they own the best bakery in New York and they are here today to give you a special test. Please welcome Elsa and Anna Arendelle!”

Emma watched amazed as Elsa and Anna entered the room. Everyone in the room watched as the sisters made their appearances. They knew them, they heard about them, some maybe even ate their cakes but Emma was the only person who had a job offer from Anna and she wanted to keep that little fact for herself. She realized, looking at the two sisters, that Elsa must be  the more reasonable and responsible one. Her long, blue dress and her blonde braid gave her a royal look, the look they always displayed with their business.

“Hello everyone!” Elsa told them. “It’s  such a pleasure to be here today.”

“Really it’s a big, big pleasure. You have no idea how much we wanted to come to this show!” Anna said excited. Yes. Emma was right. Elsa was the reasonable one and Anna the childish one, for sure.

“Today we will give you a special and new theme, as Regina said. But first, you’ll have to  get into pairs .” Elsa continued, ignoring Anna.

Emma looked at Belle and with a nod they became a pair. The others did the same, and in a few minutes everyone had a partner, resulting 12 pairs.

“Good. Now, everyone has to choose a Disney movie and make a cake inspired by it. You choose the movie, you choose the design, we decide which is the best based on the appearance and  more importantly  the taste of the cake. ”

“At the end of the round the pair who has the best cake will receive a special gift from us.” Killian said.

“But also at the end three pairs will go into the third round which means that from six people, three will leave the contest today.” Gold ended.

“You have five hours to end this round.” Mary Margaret ended.

“I just want to say one more thing.” Anna intervened. “I love Frozen! But please don’t make any cake based on Frozen.”

“You have five hours.” Regina reminded them and then started the clock.

“What do you think we should do, Emma?” Belle asked her.

“I don’t know… My son is a big fan of Disney but… What is your favorite movie?”

“I love Beauty and the Beast.” Belle said excited. “What is yours?”

“Tangled. But to be honest I think it would be better if we do a Beauty and the Beast cake. I can’t think of a cake inspired by Tangled that doesn’t have a big tower or something that looks like Rapunzel’s hair.”

Belle smiled excited at her. “Okay then. What do you say if we start? I can draw. I mean I can start doing a sketch while you do the basic composition for the layers and then we can decide together about the filling. I mean, if you want to do it, of course.” Belle wanted to look like she would agree with anything Emma said but Emma could see in her eyes the excitement that came from the thought that she might to the design of the cake.

“Sure. You start to put your ideas on a paper and then we can decide together.” Emma told her smiling.

She loved that Belle was just as excited as she was when it came to making the designs of the cakes. For Emma, this was the best part in the making of the cake. The part where you put your ideas on paper just so you can work at them and make more details after you start to put them on the cake.

Emma took the ingredients she needed and started to mix them to make the layers of the cake. Emma worked in silence for 15-20 minutes while she made enough  batter  to have at least four layers of cake.  

“Ok, I’m done.” She announced to Belle after a while, when she was done with the  batter . “Do you need help?”

“Um yes, I’d like help.” Belle said looking at her and smiling.

“What did you do there?”

“Look. I was thinking at something like this.” Belle said giving her the paper.

Emma took the paper from her. Belle made three sketches of different cakes. All of them had more than two layers, two of them had four while one had three. Also two of the cakes had models of flowers drawn on them.

“I was thinking that for this one” Belle started to say about the first cake “we should decorate the first two layers from the  bottom  with yellow frosting that imitates the dress from the movie, while on the other two’s we could make them black and write with yellow frosting something from the actual story and then put some edible roses on the cake because the rose it’s like a symbol for the story.”

“I like it but something tells me that it won’t be good enough, like I don’t know…” Emma tried to explain to Belle what seemed off with at that design but she  couldn't find the right words. Fortunately Belle understood and she started to explain the other designs.

Belle explained to her the next two designs and in the end they decided to take an idea from a design, one from another and so on until they had another cake. The new cake had 3 big layers, it was decorated with white icing, purple edible flowers and in the end both of them will work to make black patterns. Belle will do a black model from black icing with The Beauty and the Beast in the end. Even if on the outside the cake might have looked simple, in the inside was the real magic. They decided to make the layers from chocolate and the filling from dark chocolate and orange. They hoped this will make the trick and their team will win.

After they decided on how the cake will look like and what  what flavor it would be , they started to work. They worked well together;  Emma and Belle each had things to do so that they can’t disturb the other.

While they worked Elsa and Anna came to see what they  were doing . Emma saw them talking with Belle on the other side of the table while she was working on the design for the Beauty and the Beast and prayed that they would stay there and wouldn’t come to see her. Sadly, no one listened to her because after ten minutes of talking with Belle they came to her.

“Oh!” Anna started when she recognized her. “I know you.”

“You do?” Elsa asked her sister while Emma looked between them.

“Yes. She’s Emma! I told you about her. We’ve met while I was in Boston.” Anna explained to her.

“Oh yes! Hi Emma.” Elsa said smiling to her “Anna told me a lot about you.”

“Good or bad things?” Emma asked laughing.

“Good things. Very good things.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“What are you doing there, Emma?” Elsa asked looking at her work.

“I’m making the filling of the cake.”

“Oh. May I?” Elsa asked looking at the filling again.

“Of course.”

Both Elsa and Anna tasted the filling. She watched them and then smiled when they looked at each other.

“Chocolate!” They said together laughing.

“And it tastes so good!” Elsa completed. “Did you do it, Emma?”

“Yes.” She said proud of herself.

“Well, I can tell you one thing. Anna was right when she said you were very good.”

“Thank you.”

“You know” Anna started to talk “That offer it’s still on the table if you want it after the contest.”

“Um… thank you.” Emma said awkwardly.

Luckily for her, Elsa and Anna  left  shortly after that and Emma went back to her work but she couldn’t stop thinking about their words. If she did well in the show maybe she would contact them again and take their offer into consideration but for now she had to concentrate on her work there.

After an hour the cake was done and it looked better than they both imagined. They were the first pair to go with the cake to the jury. They arranged the cake on a tray and went with it to the front of the room.

“Wow.” Was Anna’s reaction.

“It looks amazing, girls.” Elsa told them.

“What do you have here?” Mary Margaret asked them.

“We prepared a cake inspired by the story Beauty and the Beast.”

“Why this?” Mr. Gold asked them. Well, he asked Belle more than she asked Emma, but anyway.

Emma looked at Belle and made a sign for her to talk.

“Well, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite story and we both decided that we could make our cake inspired by it.” Belle told him.

“Let’s taste it.” Mary Margaret said.

They watched them cut the cake and taste it. Elsa and Anna had the same reaction as earlier when they tasted the chocolate but they did not expect the other reactions.

“Bloody hell this is so good.” Killian said.

“It doesn’t just look good but it also has an amazing taste.” Mary Margaret said.

“It has indeed an amazing taste. You did really well.” It was the first time Emma heard that from Gold’s month and she thought that it had something to do with Belle being there.

“It has a royal taste. Mixing chocolate with orange is always amazing.” Elsa said.

“Good job girls.” Regina told them and making a sign that they can go back to their table.

“Just a minute.” Gold said. “Who made the models?”

“Both of us.” Emma said quickly.

“Okay then.”

They went back and watched the others. There were cakes inspired by other Disney movies like Tangled, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, and even Frozen. Zelena and Walsh had a cake inspired by Wizard of Oz and Emma had to admit their cake was horrible. Even Mary Margaret who was the sweetest of them all told them that their cake “didn’t look too good” with all the green and yellow on it and Gold was the  harshest  telling them that the chocolate in the cake tasted like shit. Elsa and Anna refused to taste the chocolate when they saw how it looked.  

“We decided who won this round and the big surprise.” Regina announced. “The winners are… Emma and Belle with their cake inspired by Beauty and the Beast!” After the announcement everyone started to applaud. “Your gift” she continued “Is to spend the weekend with you families! You can tell us who you want here and we will invite them here.”

Emma couldn’t believe. She could spend two more days with Henry without hiding. That’s when it  occurred to her . Henry wasn’t supposed to be here, what if Regina  found out ? She had to talk with Killian to be sure that their secret was still save. And she had to do it quickly.

In the end the pairs who went to the eliminatory rounds were Zelena and Walsh, Ariel and Eric, Mulan and Aurora. She hoped that Zelena and Walsh would leave the contest this time because they weren’t even good at baking and Zelena was a total bitch with everyone not just with her.

They had a break between the rounds and she decided that she will go and talk with Killian about their little secret. When she found him, he was with Elsa, hugging and kissing her on the cheeks. Emma realized that she interrupted a private moment and she wanted to go back when she hit one of the chairs. This made the pair looking at her.

“Oh, Emma.” Elsa said smiling at her and taking a step back. “Congratulations!” She said coming to her.

“Um.. thank you, Elsa. I… I will go back and leave you...” She  gestured  something with her hands awkward. God. What was going on? Was she jealous? No, she couldn’t...

“I actually wanted to talk with you.” Elsa said stopping her. “Killian, do you mind if we have a talk without you around?” She asked him.

“Of course not. Go on.” They watched him go and then Elsa turned her attention to Emma.

“I wanted to ask you why you refused to work with us. And please be sincere, I’m just curious.”

“Well…” Emma didn’t want to tell her the whole story but she had too. “You have the biggest and the best bakery in New York. Professional bakers work there…. I… I am not that. I didn’t even go to college and everything I know is from books or the internet.”

“Oh Emma. We don’t care about that. When Anna found you in Boston she saw something in you and I saw the same thing today. You have talent. You say you  learned  everything from books or internet but that is actually the best thing. Everyone else had someone to guide them  through  their work so they don’t really know  what it's like to mix something the wrong way and then to start again. I have a feeling that you know  what that's like .” Emma nodded at her. She knew how it was. She had to start some fillings over and over again until they were right.

“We would like you in our team, Emma.” Elsa continued. “And after you win this contest, and trust me, you will, you have a job waiting for you at Arendell’s Bakery. If you want it of course. And when  you're deciding , just remember that we don’t care about your studies or about the fact that you are an amateur. We care about how you bake. And about you.” Elsa ended on a serious tone.

“Thank you very much, Elsa.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It is the truth. I would like to give you my number but I don’t have a paper… you can always tell Killian or ask him for my number though.”

“I will. Now, speaking of Killian. I have to go and talk with him about something. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course, go on.”

Emma left Elsa and went in the direction Killian went earlier. She found him outside talking on the phone. When she was almost in front of him, he saw her and said something to his phone and then  hung up  and looked at her.

“Everything good with Elsa?” He asked her.

“Yes, she wanted to talk with me about some things.”

“About your future job, perhaps?” Killian asked with an eyebrow raised.

“How do you know about that?”

“Elsa is my brother’s girlfriend.” That explained a lot, Emma thought to herself. “When Anna met you the first time she told Elsa about you and Elsa told us.”

“So did you know who I was when I entered the competition?”

She wanted to ask if that was why she was in the contest, but she decided that it would be better to wait for his answer.

“No. Elsa never told us your name.”

“Good”

“I actually wanted to talk with you about something.” Emma said to him.

“What is it?”

“Regina. She said that we can spend the weekend with our families but my son is already here.”

“So?”

“So?” Do you think she knows something?”

“No, of course not. No one knows about him being here, Swan. Well no one that isn’t me, you or Mary Margaret.”

“And me!” They both turned when they heard the voice from behind. There was Zelena, who, most likely, heard a big part of their conversation. “Hi.” She smiled at them.

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked her.

“Did I disturb you and your boyfriend?”

“Miss Oz, please.”

“Oh, don’t ‘Miss Oz’ me, Killian Jones.” She waved a hand at him. “Is it true what I just heard? You son was here and he knew?” She asked Emma.

“Zelena please.” Emma tried to stop her.

“No. Did you know that it was against the rules? Oh! Did you know what might happened if Regina  hears about this? ” Zelena said  looking at them like a crazy person

“Zelena this is not your business”

“So you don’t disagree. You went against the rules. Both of you.” She said. “I will be sure Regina heard about that.” And with that she turned without another glance at them and without giving Emma or Killian any change to talk with her.

“Killian what are  we going to do ? If she tells Regina that Henry was here all week I might be disqualified.” Emma looked panicked at him.

“Emma.” He said putting his arms on her shoulders. “Relax.”

“But.”

“Let me take care of it. It was my fault, I will fix this.”

“No, Killian it wasn’t your fault. I should have  checked  if someone was following me.”

“Emma.” He looked into her eyes. “It’s not. Let me take care of it.”

“Okay.”

She wanted to say something else but Robin asked for everyone to be ready for the last test. Emma stayed outside while Killian went back for the last round. She had to wait now.

* * *

After three hours Robin told her and the others that they can go inside to assist at the judgment. She didn’t want to see Zelena’s face again but she knew she had to. When they entered in the room she  chose  a chair far away from the 6 participants and the jury. She heard them talking about the cakes the 6 made, she saw Mulan and Aurora being saved from the elimination (she was happy for them), after them only Ariel, Eric, Walsh and Zelena remained. The jury gave their verdict to Walsh first. He will leave the contest because his mousse “was worse than  terrible .”

“I choose Eric.” She heard Mary Margaret said, meaning that she wanted Eric to be eliminated. Gold and Killian agreed with her, meaning that Eric was eliminated.

Only Ariel and Zelena remained. The first who choose was Mary Margaret and she voted for Zelena. Next is was Gold’s turn, who, for some reason, voted for Ariel to be eliminated. Then, it was up to Killian who would stay in the contest and who will not. Deep down in her heart she knew what his answer would be but she still hoped that his  choice would be right, not based on  what happened earlier.

“I’m choosing Zelena.” She heard him say. Somehow, she wanted to smile but she couldn’t. Not there. There were too many people.

“You will pay for that.” She saw Zelena looking at him. “Everyone will hear about your little secret.” She continued looking towards the rest of the participants, searching for Emma.

Emma tensed on her chair. She hoped Zelena won’t revealed everything while the others where there.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Miss Oz.” Killian said calm. She had to admit, she was impressed by how relaxed he was.

“Oh you” But Zelena couldn’t finish because Regina interrupted her and told her to exit the room. Zelena left and Regina went after her. Emma imagined the conversation they will have for the next few minutes. She knew that this could be her last night in the competition. She took her phone and wrote a message to Killian.

_ “Come to my room later. We need to talk. - Emma Swan.” _

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

Emma left the room where everyone was and went back to her own. She changed her lothes and sat on the bed. She was tired, tired of everything, of this thing with Zelena, the… thing she didn’t know how to name with Killian and even the whole show. She closed her eyes and let the darkness wrap around her, to help her relax, even if it was just for a little while.

She was awoke after some time, by a knock at her door. She rose from the bed, not bothering to look in the mirror and opened the door. The first thing she saw were Killian’s blue and surprised eyes. She moved to let him enter the room, closed the door and started to talk to him.

“I told you to come later.” She said putting her arms around herself.

“It is later. It’s been an hour.”

“Really?” She asked looking around the camera for a clock and then again at him.

“Yeah.” He said and then  his eyes moved anywhere but to her.

“You did it for me, right?” She asked him when he didn’t look at her. She knew he understood what she was talking about when he finally looked at her and tried to hide whatever was in his eyes.

“Well, to be honest Zelena’s cake was really bad.” He said trying to smile at her.

“Killian, I’m serious.”

“Me too. Zelena wasn’t good, Emma. She had to leave.”

“But you also did it for me.”

“Perhaps.”

“Why?”

“I quite fancy you, Swan. If you coulnd’t see that already.”

“Be serious for once Killian! Zelena might be with Regina right now telling her what she saw and what she heard. About us. About Henry!”

“For all we know Regina might not even believe her, Emma. Zelena wasn’t all that fair in the contest, you know, I know it and even Regina knows that.”

“But what if she does? What if Regina decides that this is the moment she trusts Zelena? This could be my last night here Killian. I don’t want this.” Emma said almost desperate.

“Emma. Stop freaking out.” Killian came to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You are really good. Regina isn’t foolish, she won’t believe Zelena and even if she does, you won’t be disqualified.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just know it. Believe me.” He said looking pleading into her eyes. “Trust me.” 

He looked exactly in his eyes and Emma felt mesmerized by the  emotions  behind them. It was like they had their own super-power. One she couldn’t resist, that was or sure.

“I do. I do believe you Killian…” She finally said quietly. That was the exact moment she realized how close they were.

She looked in his eyes then somehow her eyes moved to his lips then again back to his eyes. When she looked at his eyes she saw him looking at her lips. He raised his eyes to hers again and then she felt him leaning in. She couldn’t move so she just stayed there and waited until his lips touched hers. And when they did, she didn’t know what to do. Her heart was beating faster and she started to feel butterflies in her stomach. She just closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

It was gentle in the beginning. His lips were soft on hers, sweet even, from the cakes he tasted all day, most likely. His touch was soft too, he put a hand on her hip and one on her cheek while one of her arms dropped on his shoulder and the other on his hip. Then suddenly, somehow, they seemed to be in a hurry. Killian moved his hand from her hip and cupped her face with both his hands. Then suddenly they stopped.

“Wow.” Emma said with her eyes still closed, feeling his hands resting on her cheeks.  

“Indeed.” Was Killian’s only response. He put his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. Then  her hand moved slowly from his hip to his shoulder until both of her hands were around his neck. Emma moved her head and then they went for it again.

She felt the tip of his tongue asking for her permission, which she gave in a second. Emma felt  her entire body leaning on him in the same moment Killian took a step back. He  stopped  kissing her mouth and kissed her neck instead.

“Killian.” Emma let a moan escape her lips when he touched a sensitive point near her shoulder.

She knew that the sound she made motivated him to continue and yet, something in the back of her mind told her to stop. She stopped the kiss by pressing her forehead on his, her eyes were closed, enjoying the feeling of this hot breath on her face..

“Emma.” She opened her eyes softly and look in his. When she did not say anything he continued. “That was amazing.”

“I know.” She smiled pressing her forehead on his. “But….”

“But we can’t do it again? Not while we are still on the show?” Killian said but his words sounded more like a question than an affirmation.

“I was going to say that you should leave before it’s too late and someone sees you if you leave later.”

“Emma…”

“But you are right too…” She said, her smile dropping and taking a step back. “We can’t do this while I’m still here.”

“But you want to do it? After, I mean.” He asked surprised.

“You kiss quite well.” Emma said smiling.

“I can do better. If you want to see.”

“I’d like that. But not now.”

“After.”

“After.” She said nodding at him. “It doesn’t matter if that will be tomorrow because of Zelena or in two weeks.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He took a step towards her and put a hand on her hip. She didn’t stop him when his lips fell on hers. It was a quick but somehow perfect little kiss on the lips.

“Go, Killian.” Emma said smiling at him.

“Ok, ok. I’m going.”

He left her room quickly, before making sure that no one was near her room and no one would see him.

Emma closed the door and sat back on the bed. It was nearly eleven and yet, sleep didn’t come. She wanted to say that it was because of the nap she had earlier, but she knew, deep down, that that wasn’t the real reason. She knew that the reason behind the lack of sleep was the man with blue eyes and very soft, very sweet lips. She closed her eyes and thought about that day. She was happy, for more reasons but at the same time she felt a big pain in her heart when she thought that this could be her last night there.

Yet, eventually, sleep came and she dreamed about baking for Henry on a sunny Sunday morning, with Killian by her side.

* * *

On the other side of the building, Killian struggled to sleep just as much as Emma. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face. He wanted to make her happy and if there was something he could do to assure her that she would stay on the show till the end, he would do it in a  heartbeat.

He hoped that Emma  was able to  sleep better than him. He had no  regrets  about anything that he had done, he didn’t regret that he bought Henry here to be with Emma, he didn’t regret being friends with Emma, he didn’t regret that he voted for Zelena to leave and he definitely didn’t regret the kiss. That kiss. The kiss that appeared in front of his face every time he closed his eyes.

When he went to her room earlier that night, he didn’t think about kissing her, he knew and he wanted to talk with her about the things that happened during the day. But when he saw her? When he saw her, he couldn’t resist. At first he just wanted to assure her that everything will be fine, that she doesn’t need to alarm, but being so close to her made things to him and he decided that he stopped himsef too many times, so he kissed her. He knew, since she kissed him on the cheek that her lips were soft, but it was a different thing to feel them on his own lips, to taste them. He was so caught in the moment that he moved, without thinking, from her lips to her neck and the sounds she made motivated him to continue. He was sure that if Emma didn’t stop when she did, he wouldn’t been able to stop soon.

He remembers that the first time he saw her, he tried to close his heart against the feelings that were already started to appear. He knew that it wasn’t right, to feel something for one of the participants at the contest he judged. He’d tried and failed lamentably and yet, he didn’t regret it. Emma wasn’t just a talented baker, she was also smart and brave and really beautiful. And if he tried to deny any of these things, he knew he was an idiot.

When Killian finally fell asleep he feel asleep hoping that Emma would stay longer on the show. Even if they couldn’t do anything, he wanted her to have this chance and maybe even win.

* * *

The next morning Emma woke up to her phone ringing. With her eyes half closed, she checked the phone and saw that the one who was calling her was Regina Mills.

“Hello?” Emma answered with her voice trembling.

“Miss Swan? Did I wake you?” Regina asked her.

“Um. No, no, no.” She answered really quickly and even she didn’t  believe  what she said.

“Ok then. I’ll be waiting for you in my office. In an hour.”

“Is… Is everything okay?”

“We need to talk.” Was all she said  before hanging up . Emma knew, from her tone, that it would be a serious talk.

Emma took a quick shower, dressed, took what she needed and left the room. On the way to Regina’s office she sent a message to Killian telling him where she was going and what she thought was about to happen. Killian’s answer was quick, telling her that she didn’t have to worry, that she would call him back, after the meeting with Regina and she’d be happy when they spoke again. Emma wanted to believe him, she really did, but she knew the rules of the show and she saw Regina and she knew Regina. It was better to expect the worse and be happy after, than be sure that nothing would happen and cry after.

With a knot in her heart she arrived in front of Regina’s office. She knocked once and when she received the permission to enter the room she didn’t waste any more time.

“Come in, Miss Swan.” Regina said when she opened the door. “Please, take a seat.” She said showing her the chair in front of the desk.

“Morning, miss Mills.”

“Emma, I have something really important to tell you. Do you know what this is about?”

“I might have an idea, yes.”

“As you know, miss Swan, Zelena left the contest yesterday and she had a very… colorful reaction when she found out.”

“Yes, I know.”

“She came to my office after that and told me some things about you.”

“Miss Mills, I-”

“Let me speak.” Regina said raising her hand to stop Emma from talking. “Zelena told me that she heard a  discussion  between you and Killian Jones. One in which you told him about your son, who was already in the city. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but then she told me that you and Jones aren’t the only ones who know about your son, but you two also had an accomplice and that was Mary Margaret. So I went to her and I asked her about it. Of course, she didn’t want to tell the truth in the beginning, but Mary Margaret can’t keep a secret if you are threatening her with her job. And she loves her job, so she had to tell me that indeed, your son was in the city and you have seen him more than once. What I want to know is why and how.” Regina said looking at her with a cold face.

“I… I missed him.”

“So you called your brother and told him to come here with him or what?”

“Yes. That’s what I did.”

“What was Jones’  involvement  here? How did he found out?”

Emma couldn’t tell her that Killian was the one who called for her brother and for Henry. She knew that Regina would fire him in a second and he didn’t deserve that. So Emma just decided to lie.

“He, just like Mary Margaret, saw us together in the city. He asked me about who my son was and I couldn’t lie. I also told him to keep it a secret.”

“You don’t mind if I call Jones in here, do you? I want to know what he has to say about this.”

“Why disturb him? He will tell you the same thing as I told you.”

“Emma. I need to hear all sides of the story.”

While Regina called Killian, Emma started to panic. She knew that when he came he would tell Regina that he was the one who brought Henry and David to the city… And Regina might be even angrier for the lies she had just told  her.

In less that ten minutes Killian was in the office, in the chair next to her.

“Jones, Emma here told me that she was the one who brought her son in the city, even if she knew it was against the rules. Is it true?”

Killian took a quick glance at Emma and she saw in his eyes the determination.

“Of course not. I am the one who called her brother and told him to come here with her son. Emma had nothing to do with this. She didn’t even know what I did.”

“But you knew it was against the rules.”

“Of course I knew it was against the rules! But you know I never follow the rules, Regina.”

“Yes, I know this very well, but you also know that this could end with you out of the show!” Regina almost yelled at him.

“I don’t care!”

“And why is that?”

“Because, Regina, let me ask you this. How would you feel if you were a mother and you were  away from you child, you missed him with all your heart and yet, someone would tell you that no, you couldn’t see your child for another month? Would you be happy with that? I did it because I saw the sadness in Emma’s eyes when you told her that she can’t see her child. When I spoke with Emma’s brother and I told him to come here with her son, I really didn’t care or even think about my job. I thought about the fact that I would make a mother happy.” Killian said  determined . He’s eyes were on Regina, but Emma could see that hands were in tight fists.

Regina had a serious look on her face, she didn’t look at them, in that moment Emma could see that Regina Mills was in her own world. Emma looked at Killian and Killian looked at Emma. He smiled, winked confident at her and took her hand in his. She had no words for what he said, she didn’t know all of that but she could see that Killian  hadn't lied .  Everything  he said to Regina was true and Emma was overwhelmed. 

When Regina was back in this world she looked at them.

“What am I going to do with you two?”

“The right thing.” Emma finally said.

“The right thing would be to fire you both.” Regina said looking at Emma and then at Killian. “But you” she said looking again at Emma “you are too good. You have talent and I would be the biggest idiot ever if I made you leave this show. While you…” She said looking at Killian this time “well you have a special charm, and the half of the staff who doesn’t hate me would hate me if I fired you. So you stay in the show, both of you. And I don’t care what you are doing with your… private and more than private life, but try to keep it  quiet . We have two more weeks of filming and I don’t want any more incidents, especially since no one else knows about…. this.” She said gesturing with her hands at them.

“Thank you Regina.” Emma said  truthfully .

“Now leave. Both of you. Go and get ready, we are filming later.”

“Yes sir.” Killian said with a smirk.

They both  exited  the office. When Emma was in the hallway she finally let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was still on the show. She couldn’t believe that she was still on the show. And Killian  had stayed  too.

“I told you.” Killian said behind her.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Killian!” Emma said turning to him. She really wanted to hug him, but they were still outside Regina’s office.

“You’re welcome.” He put a hand on her back and they started to walk together. “It was true, you know. What I said in there. When I talked with your brother, he asked me what would happen if I got caught. I told him I didn’t care as long as you were with your son.”

“Killian you have no idea what that means to me.”

“I think I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Will you tell me, Emma?”

“I will, one day.”

“Ok.”

“I would like to kiss you, Emma,” he said leaning toward her.

“I’d like that too. But remember what we said last night.”

“I remember… When you will win this contest, and you will win it, I’m gonna kiss you so hard.”

“ Speaking of the end of the contest. Promise me that until then, you won’t vote again for someone to leave the contest for me. If you have to choose, choose as it should. Not because of me.”

“I promise you, Emma. Zelena was the first and the last.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story nominated for Best Multichapter (-50k) in Captain Swan Fanfic Awards 2016. Please vot here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer) or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!
> 
> Many thank to Corinne, bucklesomeswashswan (on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta for this story!

The last two weeks in the competition were a living hell for everyone. The last participants gave everything they could, everyone wanted to win the big prize of 1 million dollars and the recognition that came after the competition was done. Emma tried her best to stay as long as she could in the competition and when Regina announced that only she and Belle were iin the final round she cried. She cried in front of everyone and then she cried that night, in Killian’s arms, in her room, because she couldn’t believe that she’d gone that that far and that she had an actual chance at winning.

Killian had encouraged her, in secret, in the last two weeks. They tried to keep it between them, they stopped going into town after David and Henry left because they didn’t want to be seen by someone and even around set they tried to stay away for each other as much as they could. But that was hard, especially when they did not really want to stay away from each other. Killian  stayed overnight in her room a few times , but nothing happened between them, they just talked, watched some TV shows and slept but Killian had to leave her room very early in the morning, while everyone was still asleep to avoid being seen.

On the last day of filming, Emma woke up with a knot in her stomach. Killian somehow sensed something was off with her and put an arm around her waist.

“Everything will be alright,” he  told her comfortingly.

“I’m afraid.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“Belle is really talented.”

“And so are you. Seriously love, you have nothing to  be afraid of . Everything will be fine and even if you don’t win, you’ll still have Henry, your brother, your friends.”

“You?”

“Me” he said smiling and then continued “and Elsa.”

“Do you think Elsa still wants me?”

“I am sure of that.” He said pressing a kiss on her forehead. “Now let’s get ready. You have a competition to win.”

* * *

Later that morning Emma and Belle were in front of Regina and the jury for the last time. Everyone was dressed formally for the last day of the shooting. The men, Killian and Gold, were dressed in tuxedos (Emma had a bit of a shock when she saw Killian dressed in the black tuxedo, his hair arranged more than usual by their hairstylist), while Mary Margaret and Regina were dressed in beautiful dresses. Emma had to admit that she loved their dresses. Marry Margaret was dressed in a long dress, the top was blue with white lace  collar while the skirt was pink and Regina had a long black and simple dress. Only Emma and Belle were allowed to wear  their usual  clothes to be comfortable while they had to bake.

Before Regina could stop talking, Emma looked at Killian for support and he winked at her immediately. Emma nodded at him and then moved her attention to Regina.

“This is your last day here.” Regina said looking at her and Belle. “We are all here to encourage you, give you strength and make you want to give everything you have, give the best in you, to demonstrate that you are The Best Baker in the United States and win the big prize! The jury decided  what you will be doing today for the task  and I will let Mary Margaret tell you.” Regina finished taking a step back while Mary Margaret took one forward.

“First of all I want to congratulate you for your performance during the show. Both of you have great talent and I am sure we will have a hard time deciding between you. Now, for your last challenge, you will have five hours to prepare a wedding cake! Make it as big as you want, the  the flavor doesn't matter as long as it is appropriate for the cake .  Everything else will come from your imagination and you have free choice over fillings and decorations .” She showed them the table in front of her. “You have here a table with basic ingredients you might need for your cakes. You can come and take everything you need from here.”

“There is one more thing to add.” Gold started to say before Mary Margaret could continue. “Every former participant that has been in the show this season is here today, for you.” He said showing them the door.

At a sign the door opened and everyone that was in the show started to enter the room. Everyone was there, Ariel, Eric, Ashley, Graham, Jefferson, Will and even Walsh and Zelena. They sat on the chairs that were arranged in the room and they looked at Emma and Belle and started to clap for them. Emma felt overwhelmed in that moment, but she knew she had to be strong.

“But that’s not all.” Killian said to Emma and Belle. “We invited here two of the people you love the most, just so you can be a little more overwhelmed tonight.” He said laughing.

The door opened again and Emma felt tears coming to her eyes when she saw Henry and Belle’s father (she supposed) entering the room. When she saw Henry coming to her she couldn’t stop her tears from falling. He jumped into her arms and from the corner of her eyes she saw Belle hugging her father.

“Henry!”

“I knew you could do it!” He said looking at her.

“It’s not done yet.”

“I know. In five hours you will win this show.”

Emma laughed and hugged him harder. She felt more tears leaving her eyes but she didn’t care. She didn’t care that she was being filmed, she didn’t care that the whole country would see this moment when the show aired, she just cared about the fact that her son was there with her in that moment and he would be able to encourage her and give her strength during the next five hours.

Emma put him down when Regina called their names and watched him walk towards a chair.

“Ok, dears.” Regina started. “You have to take a deep breath and concentrate because your last challenge will start in 5…. 4…. 3…. 2…. 1! Good luck girls!” And with that the last five hours in “Bake Off” started.

The first thing Emma started to do was to go and get the ingredients she needed to make the layers. They were simple, normal, layers. The cake would have four tiers and she’d try to again make a cake with different fillings for each layer based on the secret thing that will be drawn on the cake at the end. She had an idea of what she wanted to do and for it she needed the whole five hours without any mistake or distractions. She saw the idea of the cake last night, on the news and it fits perfectly to what she wants to do today. She needed a lot of time for the decorations because  there was a lot to do and it was complicated.

Since Henry was there the cake would be inspired by his love for comics and also she knew that Killian was a big Marvel and DC fan so the cake would be a little… dedication for him as well. She just needed to hide the final look of the cake so no one could see it until the jury  was examining the cakes.

She made the  batter  for the layers and a little sketch on some baking paper of how she wanted the cake to look and now she was thinking about the  flavors  of the fillings when Mary Margaret and Killian appeared in front of her.

“So Emma, how are you?” Mary Margaret asked her.

“I’m fine.” She answered smiling at her.

“Excited? Are you nervous?” Killian asked her with a smirk on his lips.

“You can bet. My son is here, everyone from the show is here again and this is the last challenge of the show. Of course I am a little nervous.”

“Well, I am sure that in the end everything will be alright.” Killian said winking at her.

“What are you making Emma?” Mary Margaret asked her trying to take a look at the sheet of paper in front of Emma, where she had the sketch of the cake.

“A wedding cake!” Emma said laughing.

“Yes, but can we have a look at the design?”

“Um.. no, not really. I want it to be a surprise for everyone, especially for my son.”

“Do you make something for him?”

“It’s inspired by him.”

“Well then, good luck, Emma.”

“Give em’ hell, love.” Killian whispered to her with a smile and a wink.

She smiled at him and watched them leave. Emma realized the fact that in the last two weeks Killian’s “Give em’ hell” always came like an encouragement for her and it always worked and she also thought it was cute.

When her mind came back to the room, Emma went back to work continuing to think about the right taste of the fillings.

* * *

During the five hours Regina  walked between Emma and Belle and asked them little questions about their cakes and what they were doing. Both of them were  concentrated  and secretive about their cakes and Regina had to admire them. Both women were talented and despite that obvious competition  between them today , both of them tried to help each other. Emma helped Belle when one of the tiers of her cake almost fell, and Emma held it until Belle corrected the mistake  by adding extra support to the tier below  and in return Belle helped Emma when she couldn’t make the perfect color she needed for her frosting.

If someone was to ask Regina who was her favorite she couldn’t choose, she liked them both.

After Regina took little interviews with the girls she had to do the same with Gold, Mary Margaret and Killian and then go to the former participants.

The first interview with the members of the judges was with Gold who was very… cold in his answers.

“What did you think about this season of Bake Off?”

“It was really interesting.”

“Ok. Do you have a favorite that you wish to win tonight?”

“I obviously want Belle to win. There is no doubt about it.”

_ ‘Of course he would say that’  _ Regina thought. She noticed a long time ago that Gold had a thing for Belle, she wasn’t sure about Belle’s thoughts for him.

“Do you have something else to say about this last round of the competition?”

“No, not really Miss Mills.”

“Okay. Thank you very much.”

The next was Mary Margaret who was more than excited during her interview with Regina.

“Do you have a favorite tonight, Mary Margaret?”

“I have to go with Emma. She has something special. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ve seen something in her from the beginning and I hope people who watched the show saw it too. She is special.”

“What do you thing about this season of the show?”

“It was, for sure, an interesting season. Everyone was good and there were  moments  when we, as the judges, had a hard time  choosing  who should stay and who should leave.”

“The former participants will watch this interview for sure, do you have a message for them?”

“As I said before, everyone was good and I would like to see some of the former participants coming back for future seasons. I want them to keep going and practice what they learned here. Also I wish them all the best and I hope that all of them will continue to bake and not leave this experience behind them.”

“Thank you very much, Mary Margaret.”

“Thank you too.”

The last one was Killian who, for Regina, seemed surprisingly formal.

“Killian, tell us, do you think that someone specifically should win this show?”

“Of course not. Both Emma and Belle are very talented and both of them have big chances to win tonight.”

“But do you have a favorite?”

“It wouldn’t be good form for me to say that I favor one of them, because they will watch this, people all around the country will watch this and I don’t want them to feel bad.”

“Do you think Emma and Belle will feel bad if you say that you want one of them to win and not the other?”

“No, but as I said before, both of them have big chances to win and if it  was up to me , I would give prizes to the both of them.”

“Was there something or someone that caught your attention during this whole season?”

“The creativity that these people had in them was beyond my expectations. Some of the designs we’ve seen this season were amazing and there are some that I still couldn’t forget.”

“Is there something else that happened this season that you won’t forget?”

“There are a few things, yes, but I am not going to say which.” Killian smirked at her, knowing very well what she was talking about.

“Mary Margaret said that she wants to see some of the former participants in the next seasons. Do you? “

“For sure.”

“Anyone special?”

“Ariel, Ashley, Aurora and Jefferson were some of the best participants we had this season and it would be lovely to see them again.”

“Thank you very much for your  time , Killian.”

“Thank you as well. Can’t wait to see who will win tonight.”

After Regina left Killian she went where the former participants were arranged and watched Emma and Belle. The interview with them would be a collective one, in which she asks a few questions and who  wanted  to speak with her,  wanted .

“So, are you glad to be here again?”

“Yes!” Answered all of them at once.

“How have you been after the show?” Regina asked them.

They answered  to the question one by one. She was glad to hear that Ashley gave birth to a girl name Alexandra, Aurora got engaged with her boyfriend and opened together a bakery in Chicago. Regina was happy to hear that Jefferson got a job in bakery called ‘Wonderland’ at Disney World where he had to make cakes inspired by the Disney fairytales. But Zelena’s confession was the most shocking for her.

“Well, darling, me and Walsh got together after we have been eliminated from the contest.” She said smiling at Regina and taking Walsh’s hand in hers. “I am sure we are not the only ones from the contest that got together this past month.” She said smiling meaningfully at Regina.

She knew that Zelena was talking about Emma and Killian. The day Regina talked with them and let them stay in the competition, Zelena called her to make sure that Emma and Killian were out. Regina could swear that Zelena turned green behind the phone out of jealousy when she heard that both Emma and Killian remained and she threatened Regina to talk with the media about the fact that in this competition a judge and a participant can get together without a problem but Regina took care of Zelena’s big mouth. Just as she did now with a cold stare at the woman.

The interview continued for another 15 minutes, when Regina found out more about their time in the competition, how they felt, what they liked the most and what they disliked and who they hoped would win. The opinions were divided between Emma and Belle but everyone agreed that they were “powerful” and they both deserved to be there. Well, everyone but Zelena, who continued to say that she would have been better.

When there were only ten minutes remained from the challenge Regina left the former participants, took Mary Margaret, Killian and Regina and prepared for what was coming.

* * *

 

When Regina said the last “STOP” of the show Emma just finished the last touches of her cake. She was extremely proud of the look of the cake because it looked exactly the way she wanted and fortunately no one saw what she had ready on the back of the cake so in the end it would be a surprise for everyone.

Her cake looked simple at the first sight, it was white, with four tiers as she wanted and a cute model with pink pearls, but what was really  spectacular was the inside of the cake, whose filling was different  in each  tier and of course the back of the cake which had models of superheroes. She spend the most part of the time drawing on every tier of the cake  so the top, the first tier, had a model of Captain America’s shield, with red and white straps, the second was a replica of Spider Man’s mask but the third and fourth were her favorites. On the third Emma made an image of Gotham city with Batman’s sign in the sky, black and yellow being the colors that occupied that part of the cake. For the fourth Emma made a replica of Iron Man’s mask, in 3D and edible. She would forever be grateful to Henry who made her watch every Marvel and DC movie that was on Netflix.

She looked at Belle who had in front of her an amazing blue cake with five tiers, gold ornaments and purple flowers. Emma had to admit to herself that she loved her cake and she was sure that it  tasted amazing too.

Belle was the first to go in front of the jury with her cake. Emma watched them as they cut the cake and inspected its interior. From her place she saw that the inside of the cake was pink with white layers. The first who tasted the cake was Gold.

“It is a little too salty” He commented. Emma saw the color in Belles face fade “but it is good.”

“I must say that I love the design, Belle” Mary Margaret started to say after Gold “it looks very royal and it’s arranged perfectly. And the taste it’s also very good. What is it?”

“It’s strawberry cream with vanilla.”

“I like it,” Mary Margaret said with a smile.

“Well Belle, here it is your last cake in the competition.” Killian said coming in front of her, with a smile on his face. “It’s really good, the taste it’s surprising, and I did not expect strawberry when I tasted it.”

“Thank you.” Belle said with a small smile.

“We are proud of you.” With Killian’s last words Belle went back to her place and smiled  and gave an encouraging smile to Emma.

Emma took the cake and went with it in front of the jury.

“So, Emma. What do we have here?” Mary Margaret asked her.

“A wedding cake with a surprise for everyone, inspired by my son.”

“It looks really simple.” Mary Margaret said examination the cake. “The surprise it’s in the inside?”

“It’s both on the inside and on the outside, on the back of the cake.”

“Oh.  Let’s see.”

Emma turned the back of the cake to them and she was glad when she saw everyone surprised. She looked at Killian and saw the happiness behind his eyes.

“Love,” Killian started. “This is amazing.”

Emma followed Killian with her eyes as he come closer to examine the models on the cake.

“You made Iron Man.” He said looking at her. “It is edible?”

“It is.”

“I love it.” Killian said in awe “I don’t even have to taste it, because I already love it. But I know you worked hard at it so I have to taste it.”

“Every part of the cake has a different filling on the inside, which means that every part has a different taste.” Emma added before he could cut the cake.

“You did it with a specific  purpose  or because you just wanted to do it?”

“I made it on  purpose  because every tier has a taste that resembles with the superhero made on it. So Captain America has vanilla, Spider Man has cherry, Batman has black chocolate while Iron Man has orange and cherry. I also thought about the fact that at a wedding, not everyone likes the same things and this way most of the guests can be happy, if not all of them.”

“That it’s an amazing idea.” Mary Margaret commented from behind Killian.

“I would eat everything, to be honest.” Killian told her.

“I am glad to hear that.”

“But I’m going to start with the Captain and I’m going to cut here,” he said moving the cake and cutting the white part “because I don’t want to damage the perfection that it’s this little shield.”

Killian tasted the cake and Emma didn’t know how she could describe Killian’s face. She saw this face in cartoons, when a person it’s in love with someone and his eyes are like the hearts. That was Killian’s face when he tasted the cake.

“Amazing.” Emma smiled at him and watching him going back to his place.

Mary Margaret and Gold choose different parts to taste and both of their responses were positive. Emma couldn’t be happier, her cake was a hit and even Regina came to taste it.

“We’ll take ten minutes to decide who’s the big winner.” Regina told them after Emma went back to her place.

During the five minutes everyone could feel the tension in the room. The former participants came to Emma and Belle to congratulate them and taste their cakes and also Henry and Belle’s father came to them. Henry jumped in her arms when he saw the cake and the models and told her that as soon as they are back home, they would have to make another Marvel Marathon, because they needed it after such a cake.

After the five minutes Regina told everyone to take their places. Everyone went back to their place while Emma and Belle stepped in front of the room, where the jury was, holding hands. The first person who spoke was Regina.

“I want to congratulate you, in front of everyone, for the power, the determination and the talent  you've shown us during the last three months here. We, all of us, are proud of you.” Everyone around them clapped. “This is the last time you are  standing  in front of us as participants at Bake Off and this is the last time you’ll feel these emotions. I want you both to know that no matter who wins the big prize, you are both winners tonight. But. The big winner is...”

There was a new kind of silence in the room. A silence that started to annoy Emma.

“The winner is…” Regina said again.

“Before this I want to congratulate you both for your journey in the competition.” Killian said quickly, making everyone laugh around them.

“The winner is Emma Swan!” Regina yelled looking at them.

On cue confetti started to fall from the  ceiling  of the room. Emma couldn’t believe what happened. She felt Belle hugging her and congratulating her, she felt Henry coming to her and hugging her tightly but she still couldn’t process what happened.

“I won?” She asked Regina with tears in her eyes.

“Yes, Emma, you won.” Regina said laughing at her.

“Oh my God, Henry! I won!” Emma said looking at her son and hugging him.

“I told you, mom! I told you, you can do it!”

Emma started to laugh while she hugged Henry even harder. Gold came to her and congratulated her for winning and for her performance in the show. Next, Mary Margaret came, hugged her and kissed her on the cheeks.

“Congrats, Emma!”

“Thank you!” When Mary Margaret wanted to let her go Emma stopped her “Wait, I told David that I’d ask you for your number at the end of the show.” Mary Margaret laughed at her.

“Don’t worry, Emma. David already has my number, I gave it to him when he came with Henry after you and Belle won that challenge together. We’ve talked a few times since then.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

“I am glad too.” Mary Margaret said smiling at her.

The next person who came and hugged her was Killian. He hugged her tightly, and she could feel that he didn’t care who saw them. The competition was done, she won because of her talent, not because of anything else or because of her (secret) relationship with Killian.

“I told you.” He told her when he put his arms around her.

“You did.”

“I’d like to kiss you.” He whispered in her ear.

“The show is done.”

“Yes, but Henry it’s here. I don’t want him to see the way I need to kiss you right now.”

“Thank you.” She said pressing a kiss on his cheek.

The rest of the night passed in celebration. Emma had more than new things to celebrate and that made her even happier.

Later that night, when Emma and Killian were finally alone, in a hotel room, with Henry fast asleep in the other room, Killian finally kissed her the way he wanted to. He kissed her in more than one place and he made sure that he saw her how happy he was that she won.

* * *

Emma Swan would never regret the moment she decided to participate at Bake Off. Her life changed after the show was done, it changed for good, in more than one  aspect . She and Henry had to move in New York because Emma finally accepted Elsa’s offer to work in her bakery, David also moved to New York with his new girlfriend, Mary Margaret. People started to call Emma to bake for big events, weddings for some celebrities and important parties.

But there was one thing that changed in her life and she absolutely adored and that was Killian Jones. He supported her and helped her, had been by her side every time she had a breakdown because  someone wanted her to make a certain cake that took days to make or another person didn’t want to pay her for the cake because the shade of the pink from the fondant wasn’t the right one (damn you Arianna Grande for that one).

She knew he loved her, he was sure he showed her in every action and told her countless times and she loved him just as much. Still she couldn’t believe how many things changed for her, for them.

It was like a baked love story in months of friendship and stress of a competition that changed her life forever.

  
  


* * *

Emma's cake:

Belle's cake:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The last chapter of the story. Thank you very much to everyone who read it, left cudos and reviews. 'A Baked Love Story' it's my first finished multi chapter and I am so sad to end it. But I have ideas for some one-shots that I will try to write and post just because I love this idea and I can't and don't want to, end it right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forgert to vote for this story if you like it!  
> Here: http://csfanficawards.tumblr.com/csfa2016bm-50 (on the computer)  
> or here: https://polldaddy.com/poll/9581808/ (to vote on the mobile)!


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